What Would You Have Done
by gdpsych
Summary: AU Yuki's life took a different turn when Seguchi wasn't there to save him after the Kitazawa incident. How would the Gravi lives be different. YukiShu, HiroK. Violence, Language, Mature Content.
1. Prologue

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different?

* * *

Trust in the Gun

Prologue

The young man stalked the darkened alleys of New York City. Most people would have been afraid to brave the areas of town this man called home. He was most comfortable in the dark shadows walking amongst the litter and garbage. He was more comfortable here than most people felt in their own homes. He like to prowl at night through the refuse and garbage, it matched the darkness in his soul. He no longer stopped to wonder at the monster he had become. At one time he might have had a bright future ahead of him, but that was in the past. A past he now chose not to remember. A past that was too painful for him to allow any interference with his life now. He was a dead man now, dead as much in spirit as he was with his past identity. It had all happened in a few short minutes, his soul had died and he had become someone else. Everything had changed with the sound of gunfire. Now, that was the only thing he was really good at, using guns.

He could remember clearly the first night he had fled into the streets of New York City. He was so young, cold, and scared. He also had his first blood on his hands, never to be a child again. He had killed and would continue to do so until the day he died. He couldn't stop and continue to live himself. It was his life and livelihood. He had even learned to enjoy his craft. The world held nothing else for him and since he was already dead, what did it matter? What did anyone matter, dead was better, wasn't it? When you were dead, you didn't have to feel anymore.

After his first killing he knew that there would be people searching for him. Not just the police, but friends and family. He somewhere dimly remembered that he had come from a wealthy, powerful family. His family would never allow him to just disappear; they would use everything in their power to try to find him. He did not want to be found, then or now. Besides, the search for him probably ended years ago. In running from any pursuers he had made the alleys his friends, the place where he could hide. The only place he really ever felt safe.

During his first few years on the streets, his life was rough. Prostitution was never an easy profession. He had been so innocent. Until he had hit the streets, he never knew that anything other than women sold themselves. He did not even understand that boys could be used as women. His initial custom had been great and he had made his pimp a great deal of money, being the prettiest little boy up for sale. But, even though he looked very young, he was already sixteen. It did not take long before his 'little boy' looks faded and he took on the jaded cynical look of the long time street walkers. The customers dried up and he still wasn't even 18 years old yet.

Determined to prove that he could still be useful, he talked his pimp in to allowing him to become of the enforcers. He would hit the streets, collecting money from the active prostitutes to be turned in to his boss. It was also his job to make sure that all of the active girls and boys were doing their job. Sometimes he was even called in to protect property that was in danger. He had usually enjoyed the job of 'property' protection. In the short time he had been working as an enforcer, he had learned that he was not working for just a small time street pimp, but for a powerful syndicated crime organization.

He had been doing this job for nearly a year, when feeling intruded into his life again for the first time in years. He and his partner had been doing collections when he had gotten a call from on of the girls. The organization did not mind a little 'rough play' treatment from the high paying customers, but they drew the line at mutilation and death for what they considered 'valuable property'. Valuable property was usually defined as virgin girls or boys out for their first time. They would usually bring in what a normal hooker could make in a year. Of course, a person was sold repeatedly as a virgin until they became known on the streets. This particular girl just happened to be a true virgin and only 11 years old. She was on her first trick. A group of seemingly respectable businessmen had paid top dollar for the night. They must have decided that one whore in a city full of whores would never be missed. The men had been hyped on crack when they decided that slicing the girl with their razors to get her to scream louder as they used her would be very entertaining.

Every one of the organization's newest stock carried a type of pager with them, affectionately called a 'panic button'. It was him and his partner that were called in when the girl hit her button. His partner was under the impression that the girl had just gotten scared and panicked. No matter the cause, it was still their responsibility to check out the situation. Arriving at the hotel, they found the suite quiet and no one answered their knock on the door. Busting the door down, they walked in to a scene from a bloody nightmare. As soon as they entered the room, on of the businessmen pulled a gun. Without hesitation he found his own gun in his hand and all three of the businessmen were dead in a few seconds. All of them had bullets directly through the centers of their heads. Unfortunately, the girl was dead also, surrounded by a puddle of blood and semen.

From that moment forward his fate within the organization had changed again. They knew talent when they saw it, and they had recognized his right away. He was a devilishly good shot, fast and nimble. He was just what they were looking for in an assassin. From his very first professional hit, he had proved himself worthy of the designation. His ability, not only to shoot, but his knowledge of the streets and how to blend in made him one of the single most valuable people in the organization. He quickly rose to the number one assassin's spot and was used for all of the major jobs they needed done. He was a ruthless killer with no conscious or morals. He didn't want them or need them. They would only hold him back or worse yet get him caught.

Tonight was one of those nights that he certainly did not plan on getting caught. He was on the prowl tonight for another businessman. This particular man had the audacity to attempt to start a new non-union shipping business within the organization's territory and he was also daring to undercut the prices set by the organization. The man had refused to deal with any of the competition and had declined any sort of communication at all. All of his properties were heavily insured and any destruction of his property had only made the man more money.

Also, the man was a recluse. He hardly ever left his heavily guarded apartment and office building. The assassin hated this sort of assignment. There were way too many things that could go wrong. He had to make some arrangements that might later be traceable. Also, he had been forced to leave the backstreets and alleys that he so loved and knew so well. The only way he could get to this guy would be by taking an apartment across the street from the man's office.

This meant that he would have to be able to take the guy out from a considerable distance. He would have to use a scoped rifle to fire from the apartment he had rented across the street and still remain unseen. The windows of the building he needed to penetrate were bulletproof and he needed armor piercing bullets to get the job done. Most assassins would have considered this job impossible. But, for this assassin, it was only another challenge he would be able to easily conquer.

This was a totally impersonal hit. The impersonality of the hit was what made it so distasteful to him. He had become so deranged with his craft that he actually liked to get to know his victims now before killing them. There was no chance for that here and it ruined the entire experience for him.

Arriving at the apartment he had rented in someone else's name, some street punk he had rolled for fun just last week, he scaled the fire escape so that he would not be seen. He jimmied the window and slid inside. Once his equipment was set up, he had nothing to do but wait. Wait for the mark to pass by a window, no matter the condition; he knew his shot would fly true.

An hour of time passed, the assassin never twitched a muscle and even staring constantly through the rifle scope, his vision did not blur from watering eyes. After all, he had done this before. Sometimes he had to wait for days before his mark came into view. He would then disappear during the daylight, sleeping in some abandoned building until night would fall again.

Tonight would prove lucky for him. After a little over an hour his mark passed by the window and actually stopped to look out at the city. The assassin did not waste any time.

Tightening his shoulder muscles he squeezed the trigger. One shot was all that was fired and the mark was driven clear back to the wall by the force of the impact. The assassin could see the blood smear on the white wall of the building across the street. In a matter of moments the assassin had packed up his rifle and scaled back down to lose himself in the streets one more time.

* * *

* * *

I'm sure by now you have all guessed who the assassin is. If not, you hve to wair for the first chapter.

* * *

Review to let me know what you think! 


	2. Chapter 1

Sorry, In the prologue I forgot the disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryucihi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

**Warning--Sexual Content in this Chapter** (I'm getting an early start.)

* * *

**Athen Blade--Thank you for the review. Seguchi really doesn't have much of a part in this story except at the very end.**

**Kemet--Thank you so much, I really love cookies.**

**DeMoN4EvA--If you didn't review I think I would lose it. Yuki is definately correct.**

* * *

Chapter One 

Danger Stalks

Eiri Yuki was scheduled to meet with his boss at 9:00 am sharp. He always hated these meetings. He would be getting his pay for his last job today, and the paycheck would be substantial. The pay for this job would keep a family of five in luxury for over a year. The only problem was that his boss would want all of the details. Yuki did enjoy his job but he did not enjoy relating the details. His boss was on bloodthirsty bastard and Yuki believed that the man was trying to live vicariously through his exploits. These meetings also forced him out into the daylight. He was a person of the night,an assassins business was of the night. During the day, he only wanted to be his alter ego, a freelance writer who was renowned for taking dangerous assignments.

Right now, he was felling open and exposed. He was forced to forego his usual black leathers in favor of a business suit and tie. Today, he was the businessman off to meet another client for a breakfast meeting. Approaching the café, he cursed softly to himself, his boss had chosen to sit at one of the Bistro tables underneath the still brightNovember sun. As always, he was out in the open. His boss claimed that made them look respectable. Yuki glanced inside of the building and saw plenty of respectable looking people sitting inside. He knew there was no way he would ever get his boss to agree to an inside meeting.

The man watched him approach behind dark sunglasses; the glasses were the only outstanding feature of the man's gray suited attire. Yuki thought that the man really only wore the glasses to cover the hunger in his eyes. Anyone else who was looking at him coming down the street would only have thought that he was just a very good looking man, maybe a little aggressive, but certainly not dangerous. His height was only a little over six foot tall, not tall enough to be outstanding. It was his lean, muscular frame combined with his golden hair and unusual amber that drew people's attention. He knew that his ancestry was Japanese but he did not look Asian at all. He had been told that even though he was considered by some to be pretty, his features were not at all feminine. He found admirers among both sexes, although he tended towards the males. The only feature that tended to put some people off of him was his eyes. They were cold and marked him for what he was, a cold-blooded killer.

As he approached the table, his boss rose. "Smith," Yuki greeted the man. He took the man's cool hand and giving it a friendly shake.

"Mr. Thomas," Smith greeted in return. Thomas was his name within the organization. "It is good to see you today. How did the meeting last night go?"

Smith was never one for preliminaries, yet he was always careful to follow the conventions of polite society. He was also careful to use hidden phrasing, just in case anyone might be listening.

"Everything went according to plan. The transaction went smoothly and should come as a surprise to the other investors." Yuki grinned to himself at his own choice of words.

"Are you certain? This particular news has yet to reach any of our investors."

Smith's grin told him that the man was enjoying the verbal exchange and that he approved of Yuki's choice of words.

"The writing is on the wall, Smith," this phrase was a designated code, something that Smith wanted to hear, one of the gory details that Smith liked and could picture. "I am quite certain the transaction was a success."

"Good, good," Smith muttered, seeming slightly distracted, "I was worried about the far-reaching effects." The man was only fishing for more details and Yuki decided to oblige.

"It was only a one shot transaction. The distance of the exchange was not an issue, the deal was closed quickly."

"Were there any complications, no outside offers?"

Now Yuki found he was tiring of this game, of course he wasn't seen. If he had been, he would not be here now. Yuki sighed, "None that I was aware of at the time and none now."

"OK then," Smith gave a smile that clearly said that he was giving up; "Here is the hotel key and the directions to the hotel. See that you get some sleep; I expect you to be back at the office at 9:00 am tomorrow."

"Yes, Mr. Smith, I will not be late."

Yuki left the meeting with more than his normal sense of disquiet. The entire time he had been speaking with Smith he had this feeling of being watched. He had been having this feeling for the past few weeks, a sort of prickling feeling at the back of his neck. He did not know if he was really being followed or if it was his general discomfort of being out in the daylight. If he was being followed it would not be the first time he had been tailed. He had even managed to get himself arrested once. They had not been able to stick a charge to him, but he had gotten too bold. He was past that now, he was too good.

Wanting things to look as normal as possible, Yuki did go to the indicated hotel. He was tired. He had been awake for the past two days setting things up for last night's job. He had never been able to get any sleep after doing a job and last night was no exception. I was not guilt or remorse that kept him awake, it was the pure adrenaline rush of getting away with it again. And, as always, his system was getting ready to crash. His boss knew this and always had a hotel room ready for him after a job. He knew that Yuki would not be able to make the trip back to his own home without passing out.

He had chosen not to live in the city, it was too close. He kept a modest apartment in New Jersey that was paid for totally by his journalism earnings, making it untraceable. He was still close enough to get into the city quickly if he was needed. His job as a freelance writer was frequently used as a cover for some of his less savory jobs.

The hotel was only a short walk away and this was a very good thing because by the time Yuki arrived, he was stumbling with exhaustion and his head was spinning. He did not need to check in; Smith would have taken care of that. All he needed to do was to be able to get himself up to the room and lock the door. At least the feeling of being watched had faded. It was a struggle for him to even reach the bed. Without even removing his shoes, he collapsed on top of the covers and was instantly asleep. He knew nothing more for almost a full day.

* * *

Detectives Dee Laytner and Randy 'Ryo' McClean had been given the unenviable assignment of trailing one Eiri Yuki. The police had been following this guy off and on for the past several years. They knew he had some sort of tie to the Aizawa Organization, but other than observing several meetings this Yuki had with another known member of the organization, they had absolutely no evidence at all that the man had actually committed any sort of crime. 

He had been arrested once because he had wandered too close to a crime scene. But, when he was arrested, he had a blood alcohol level of 1.34 and was obviously just a curious drunk. Mr. Yuki had spent the night in the jail and the judge had decided not to even charge him with public intoxication since he had no other public record.

The New York City police were familiar with most of the operatives of the Aizawa Organization they even knew what most of their functions were within the Organization. But, this guy, this Eiri Yuki, was an enigma. They knew that he had some kind of function, but did not work on a regular basis. He did not even live like someone who was on the payroll of an organized crime syndicate. He had a regular job as a writer and did not live above what he made as a writer.

Mr. Yuki had completed his usual morning meeting with a man they had come to know as Mr. Smith. After the meeting he had checked into a downtown hotel. They had waited for several hours outside with no sign of the man emerging. Bored as Hell, they returned to the police station to give their report.

Ryo groaned to himself,Dee always left it to him to fill out the reports. At least this one was easy: nothing, nothing, and nothing.

"Laytner! McClean! Get your asses in here!" Ryo was just putting the report in to be filed when the chief's voice shook some of the plaster off of the walls of the old precinct building.

The detectives looked to one another, both grimacing. They began the short trek down the hall to the chief's office. Both men felt like they were walking a Green Mile. Dee peeked around the corner with a cocky grin. "What's up chief?" Ryo just knew he was going to say something stupid, "Need for us to baby-sit your grandkids again?"

"Shut up Laytner!" The chief shrieked "What's up you ask. What's up is a dead businessman, one Mr. Stephen Walker. He was an up and comer on the streets. But, he started making deals and crossed into Aizawa turf. The odd thing is, the guy was a real recluse. He rarely left his building, and said building was also highly secure."

"You suspect this was an organized hit?" Ryo asked finally walking into the room.

"No way to know for sure, yet. But, it is a safe bet. I need you two to go over to the scene and look for anything. From what I have been told the scene is very clean, except that the guy's brains are spattered all over the wall. The best we can figure right now is that whoever iced him must have been Spiderman hanging off of a web outside the window."

Dee grinned and grabbed Ryo by the arm tugging him out of the office. "We're on it Boss." He yelled over his shoulder on the way out.

Ryo shook his arm loose and glared at this partner, "What's with you Dee?" he was trying but failing to hide the irritation in his voice, "I wanted…" his angry words trailed off at the look in Dee's eyes. "What is it?" Ryo asked examining his partner more closely.

"Don't know yet, but I go a feeling. Let's just go look at the scene, maybe I can get a line on what I'm feeling."

The building in question was on the other side of the precinct. Their old run downprecinct was nothing compared to the steel and glass monolith standing before them. The building was new and very modern. The security was state of the art. They went through the structural plans before going up to the scene. All of the windows were even bulletproofed. Ryo noted with amusement that the building had even been built earthquake and hurricane proof. 'Paranoid' kept going through his head, but then again, the guy apparently had a right to feel paranoid.

The room of the scene was pretty much how the chief had described it, completely clean except for the brains spattered on the wall. There was a single bullet hole through one of the south facing windows. The hole was low on the window, as if the guy pulling the trigger was on a lower level and had to fire up to make the shot. There was no evidence on the outside of the building that anyone had rigged a sling to hang outside. Following the line of sight, Ryo stared out the window, looking at the building across the street.

"Whatya thinkin, Ryo?" Dee came up behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. Dee's arms wrapping around his waist did not help his concentration, "Beautiful view isn't it?"

Ryo peeled Dee's arms from around his middle, "This really isn't the most romantic place, you know?" Ryo turned and grimaced at the spatter on the wall. "I was just thinking, there was only one shot fired. The ballistic evidence won't be complete for a few days but my guess is that the bullet was armor piercing fired from a high-caliber rifle. There was only shot fired, whoever did this was damned good."

"Why is that?" Dee now turned to gaze out of the window.

"Well, if I am following the line-of-sight correctly, the shot had to have come from that window," Ryo pointed to the building across the street, "of that building. I cannot think of one single member of the department who would be able to make that kind of a shot."

Dee shrugged, "You're pretty good Ryo."

"Not that good. Also, the guy was probably shooting at a moving target. He managed to nail him right between the eyes, the bullet exited through the side of the guy's head. So not only did the guy make the single shot from an incredible distance, he hit a moving target and nailed him dead on from the side. Also, he was shooting from at least one floor down." The worry on Ryo's face was clear.

"Sheesh and all I saw was the view," Dee tried to lighten Ryo's mood, but could see that his partner was not amused. "Want to go check it out?"

"Yeah, I don't think we're going to find anything else here, any evidence is going to be over there." Ryo started out of the apartment but Dee stopped him.

"Let me grab a couple of the Lab guys first, if there is anything over there, we'll need them."

They crossed to the building's entrance with four 'CSI' guys following. They spent some little time speaking with the building's owner. The man stated that the apartment in question had been rented just last week by a college student. Six foot tall or close enough, slim build with dark hair and dark eyes. The name on the lease was Donald Heath. The guy had paid two month's rent and the deposit in cash. That was all of the info the man had.

Ryo gave Dee a knowing look. Donald Heath was a local drunk, in and out of the tank frequently. He was known to be homeless and frequented several shelters in the area. He certainly was not a student. Plus, the guy was about fifty years old, five foot six, and weighed approximately two hundred pounds. More importantly, Donald Heath had been found dead in an alley near here over two weeks ago. He definitely was not their man.

This apartment also proved to be very clean. It was furnished, and although the furniture was shabby, it had obviously not been used in a while and the apartment was definitely not being lived in. Ryo immediately went to examine the one window in the room. There was evidence that the window had been recently opened. There were also powder burns on the window sill, the floor, and the surrounding walls. But, that was all. There were no hairs, no fibers, nothing that would help to lead them to a suspect.

"Damn, this guy's good." Dee repeated Ryo's earlier sentiment. "But, I can't help wondering…"

"You got that feeling again, don't you?" He looked Dee in the eyes to see that he was really thinking hard. Ryo loved the line that appeared in Dee's forehead whenever the man was thinking. Unfortunately, he didn't get to see it that often. "Do you think you've got something?"

"Don't know yet Ryo let's go get a cup of coffee. I think I might have something, but I need to talk it through, see if it makes sense."

Ryo and Dee made the short walk to the same café where Yuki and Smith had their meeting earlier that day.

"So, what are you thinking?" Ryo asked. Dee wasn't one who tended to like to keep things to himself but if he was going to talk things through, Ryo would need to draw him out. Their coffees had arrived by the time Dee began talking.

"Shit, I don't know, it may be something, it may be nothing. I just can't be sure yet. Do you remember the last profession-style hit we had, what was that, three months ago?"

"About three months, why?" Ryo was now very curious.

"Well, this Mr. Thomas that we have been following, wasn't he in the city then too?"

"So, he's here nearly every day."

"True, but I remember three months ago was just like this morning. Instead of having his meeting and going back to Jersey or to a magazine office, that morning Mr. Yuki also checked into a hotel."

Ryo was beginning to get the idea of what Dee was thinking, "We would need to go back to the precinct to check the reports, but yes, if I remember correctly, he did check into the same hotel, which is odd anyways since he lives so close." Ryo took another sip of his coffee and considered, "You're thinking that this Yuki guy is the hit man?"

"Like I said Ryo, I don't know yet. Believe it or not, I really do want to go back to the station and check records. Not just dates of when this guy was in the city compared to professional hit dates, but I also want to check the dates that he checked into that hotel. Even two times is still only coincidence."

"Okay, let's get this done." Ryo started to get up, but Dee's hand on his leg stopped him.

Dee's hand moved up to his thigh and an evil smirk cam across his face, "Finish your coffee first." The fingers kneading his muscle told him Dee was no longer thinking about reports.

"You're incorrigible Dee." Ryo laughed and leaned over to give his partner a hug,

"Work now, play later." He whispered into Dee's ear.

"Spoil sport." Dee pouted back.

* * *

Things were really going well for Bad Luck. Their most recent CD had just gone platinum, all of their concerts were sold out well in advance and they were starting to get international recognition. But, Shindou Shuichi was still not happy. He had everything any teenage boy could possible want, he was front man for Bad Luck, he had fame, money, and a gaggle of groupies to hang on his every word. He even had a steady lover in his best friend and band mate, Nakano Hiroshi. But, he still was not happy, there was something missing from his life, and he knew it. 

He certainly loved Hiroshi, Hiro, but it was not the all-consuming type of love he had always imagined for himself back when he was a child. And, deep in his mind, he knew that Hiro was feeling the same way. Lately, he had even caught Hiro eyeing one of Bad Luck's groupie girls. The girl's name was Ayaka and she followed the group everywhere. Shuichi knew that it would only be a matter of time until Hiro decided that her bed would be the warmest. The strangest thing was that he really didn't care anymore. Thinking again, he decided that he did care, but it wouldn't really hurt him when it happened.

Shuichi turned on his side to look at his red-haired lover who was still basking in the afterglow of the sex they had just shared. Sometimes, after concert sex was the best, all of your nerves and adrenaline leaving your body in a mind-blowing climax. Hiro's grey eyes were still open and gazing back at him.

"Hiro?" he asked quietly, "Are you happy?" Shuichi bit his lip dreading the answer.

"Of course I'm happy Shu, why the question?" Shu noticed that Hiro's eyes did not quite meet his when he answered.

"I don't know. I was just thinking the maybe…you know, you might want something else." He was really trying to hold back tears, and he was thinking this wouldn't hurt, so much for his thoughts.

Hiro sighed and reached over pulled him into strong arms. Shu knew that he was very needy and Hiro instinctively reacted to that need. He needed constant physical and emotional reassurances. Sometimes he felt like he was always taking too much fromhis loverand that it was draining him. He thought that if he could manage to love Hiro more, he would be secure in the other's love too.

Hiro's warm breath on his ear gave him some comfort, but hiss words did not.

"You know that I love you Shu. I will always love you and will always be here for you." Hiro released him from the embrace and grabbed cigarette, lighter, and ashtray from the night stand. He lit the smoke and inhaled, obviously giving him time to collect his thoughts.

"I love you too Hiro," he finally started again, "I don't ever want to lose you. But, I have noticed the way you have been looking at that Ayaka girl. I know that you want her."

Hiro's face showed his shock,he obviously didn't think he had noticed. Shu knew that most people thought him innocent, and maybe he was, but he had always been good at reading people and he knew he was not off the mark here. He might not have even been outside of Tokyo until they had started touring, but he knew there was a whole wide world out there that didn't stop just because he was feeling insecure. He could also tell by the way Hiro's body stiffened that he had hit the mark. A horrible thought struck him then.

"Hiro have you already had her?" The sudden blush on his lover's face told him everything. "Don't try to lie I can see it on your face."

"No Shu, I won't lie. I don't want to answer, but I will not lie, not to you."

Shu could tell that Hiro was just stalling for time. He was trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't be too hurtful. He thought that maybe Hiro was waiting to be let off of the hook. "Just say yes Hiro that's all you have to do."

"Yes"

The whisper was so low that Shu could barely hear the response. He covered his own pain by now pullingthe other maninto his arms. By Hiro's shudders, Shu could tell that he was crying. He was having a hard time holding back his own tears. Since neitherof themhad been truly happy in quite a while, he really should have expected this. The realization that he loved Hiro, but was not in-love with him was almost a comfort.

"I'm sorry Hiro," he wasn't sure why he was the one doing the comforting. He wasn't the one who had been screwing around. But, he did feel responsible for the situation.

Hiro snuffled a few more times before speaking again. "Why are you sorry Shu? I'm the one that…" his words were cut off as the weeping began again.

"I'm sorry because it is my fault. I am just not able to love you the way you need and deserve to be loved."

Hiro was unable to respond due to his continued weeping. Shu thought to himself that he was acting maturely for the first time in his life. Instead of clinging to something because of his own insecurities, he was letting go to prevent pain in another. He always wanted everyone to be happy and refused to keep Hiro from happiness by chaining him to his side.

"I never meant to hurt you Shu. It's not your fault, OK. I've always known how you felt. I always knew there was something missing. I let myself become involved anyways. I can't help that I always loved you more that you were able to love me." With a trembling hand Hiro reached to grasp his hand. "Do you want for this to be goodbye?"

"I don't think I could stand it if you left. I still need you; I need you as my friend. I think it would be OK if you and Ayaka got together. Just as long as you don't forget about me, and still spend time with me, now and then."

"I will always be here for you Shu, no matter who I'm with."

"Thank you Hiro."

"I just wish…."

"I know; me too. Now, go to sleep." After his last command to Hiro, Shu never expected to find sleep of his own. But his eyes did finally close.

* * *

Morning came earlier that he would have wished. He had to drag Hiro out of bed at a very early hour, especially since it was the morning after a concert. They were usually allowed some time to sleep in. This morning they were scheduled to have a meeting with their producer Sakano and their manager K. If they were even a minute late, K would be at their door pointing his guns at their heads and shooting holes in his walls. 

Everyone else seemed to think that K was basically harmless. They thought that he was a lot of bluff with basically a good heart that he was trying to cover up. Shu wasn't so sure, he had seen the look in K's eyes when he got really angry. The sky blue eyes turned to steel and caused a shiver of fear to vibrate down his spine. He just couldn't believe that K was always bluffing. Somewhere deep in his heart, he knew that K was a very dangerous man.

Throwing the comforter to the floor to finally wake Hiro up, Shu ran to get to the shower first. In the past Hiro would not have minded and would have just gotten into the shower with him. With a pang of regret, Shu realized that those days had come to an end. Even with the two of then scurrying around each other, both uncomfortable with the situation, they managed to make it to NG Records with a few minutes to spare. Shu could actually feel potential sweat drying at the relief of not having to face K's guns.

They were hurrying towards Sakano's office when Shu heard sneering laughter.

"Well, if it isn't the toneless fairy and his baggage boy."

Shu turned to see their chief rivals at NG and in the music business, the members of the band ASK. Their lead singer, Aizawa Tachi for some reason had developed a hatred for him. Other than being competition, Shu really couldn't figure out what he had done to earn such animosity. Sure Bad Luck was beating ASK on the charts and taken over the top spot on NG's roster, but this was due to talent, not to any one-upmanship by the members of Bad Luck.

"What do you want Tachi, something?" Hiro growled, giving the dark haired man an irritated look.

"Yeah, I would like to know how a couple of no talent hacks like you manage to keep on?"

"We manage to sell records, you…" Hiro started, but Shu interrupted by placing a hand on his arm and leaning to whisper in his ear. "Let me handle this."

Shu put on his best come hither walk and made sure he wiggled his hips as he approached Tachi. When he was close enough he put his arms around the man's neck and wiggled his groin against the man's hip. The look on Tachi's face was priceless; it was a study of emotions. The first was anger, then astonishment, followed by pure primal lust. It was Tachi who pulled him around to his front and began grinding them crotch to crotch. She could feel Tachi's growing erection as the other man grasped his ass and began squeezing. Tachi's mouth plunged down on to his, raping his mouth with a violent kiss. Shu tried to look like he was cooperating, but inside he really wanted to go home and take another shower, Tachi made him feel dirty.

When Tachi pulled away from the kiss, Shu couldn't hold back the hand that flew out and connected with Tachi's face. The resounding slap could be heard throughout the lobby. But, that did not seen like enough punishment, a quick shove sent Tachi flying backwards on to his ass, sliding across the white marble floor. Shu turned away flouncing back towards Hiro, he made sure his hips were still wiggling. He turned his head back to face Tachi's position on the floor and grinned, "Who could say no to this!" He taunted one more time before rejoining Hiro and heading on to Sakano's office.

"That's the last time Shindou," Tachi screamed down the corridor, "I'm not going to let you get away with humiliating me ever again." The door to Sakano's office closed cutting off anything else Tachi might have had to say.

Hiro turned to him with a grin, "How did you know that would work? I figured that he would just punch you and get it over with. How did you guess he would react like that?"

Shu blushed but couldn't hold back his laugh. "Hadn't you guessed? I did, all of his insults seen to have some sexual undertone, particularly those that are directed towards me. The fact is that he wants me, and he doesn't like that he wants me."

"Are you sure want is the right word?"

"In his head he may not think that he does, but his body told a different story. You should have felt him Hiro, he was sooo hard." Shu giggled and gave another of his little wiggles.

"You could you know Shu, do him. It might be right." Hiro looked down and stared into his eyes.

"No way!" Shu laughed and stuck his tongue out at this friend, "I've got enough problems. If that wouldn't be destructive relationship I don't know what would. Besides, I don't really like him at all. He definitely needs a few lessons on courtship. And, that kiss it made me feel dirty."

He and Hiro were still laughing when K, Sakano, and their other band mate Suguru arrived. K was flaming mad. Shu felt himself being grabbed by the collar and lifted completely off of the floor. K then proceeded to give him a good shaking.

"What the hell did you think you were doing Shindou? There's going to be trouble over that." K's voice actually vibrated, he was shaking him so hard, Shu wondered briefly how the hell he was supposed to answer without biting his own tongue off, 'Now that would be good for the old career' he thought, trying to control the hysterical panic that was threatening to cause him to bray laughter into K's face. When the shaking finally stopped he was really glad to see that there was amusement behind the steel in K's eyes and he was able to relax, a little.

"Ah K, come on and let me down. I had to do something." K gave him a look and he suddenly felt like a fish that K was thinking about throwing back into the pond, but his feet were allowed to hit the floor. "I was trying to bring things out in the open. I figured that if I could get a response from him, then he just might stop the sexual insults."

"I saw him when he got off the floor," the normally quiet Suguru put in with a grin, "He had a bulge the size of Mt. Fuji. And, I know that I wasn't the only one to see. He even grabbed his crotch as he ran off. Ma-san and Ken-san are going to have a time with him later."

Everyone in the room burst out laughing except Sakano, who promptly started having a fit over how his boss, and ASK's producer Seguchi Tohma would react to the news. And, since Seguchi was the also the President of NG, Shu figured Sakano had a right to be worried. But, since Seguchi was currently vacationing in Australia and not expected back for another month, Shu didn't really think he would have anything much to worry about.

Sakano, as usual, recovered quickly and called the meeting to order. "Now, if we can get onto the business at hand," he yelled over the top of everyone's laughter, "We need to discuss Bad Luck's upcoming Promotional Tour. Since the band is getting some international recognition, especially in the United States, we at NG feel that you should do some promotion there. There will just be a few concerts and personal appearances, that sort of thing. This is a great opportunity for NG to expand its market."

"How soon?" Hiro asked. All of the band members were probably thinking the same thing, we just off of a tour and now you want to send us out of the country?

Sakano looked down at the calendar on his desk and refused to meet their eyes, "Three days. Your flight to your first destination, New York City, leaves in three days."

A large groan resounded around the room and even K joined in.

"Sakano-san", Shu almost pleaded, "We just finished a three month tour. I, for one, am exhausted!" he put on a fake fainting spell. "Besides, I still don't speak much English. How am I supposed to relate to the fans?"

"You instinctively know how to relate Shu without even opening your mouth." Shu gave Hiro one of his special looks that were reserved for idiots, but the sincerity in Hiro's eyes told him that Hiro was not being insulting and meant every work he said.

"I have arranged for a translator for all of you, in case you need the help." Sakano admitted.

"Gee thanks, Sakano-san, it is good to know that you care. We may all drop dead from exhaustion, but at least we'll have someone to explain it in the native tongue."

* * *

Aizawa Tachi didn't think he had ever been so angry. That little bastard Shindou had made a fool of him, and in front of a busy office full of people. And he wasn't just humiliated, he was sexually humiliated. Tachi realized that what had really made it so bad was that he had wanted it. He felt like he was obsessed. He hated Shindou and wanted him at the same time. His self-humiliation had rivaled what Shindou had done to him. Finally having that boy in his arms had left him hard and aching. As soon as he was able to run, he had taken off to hide in the back of ASK's dark studio. 

"Oh god," he cursed, putting his head in between his knees after sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. "What am I going to do?"

"I would say that you have several choices," Ma's voice announced near his ear.

Tachi nearly jumped out of his skin, he had not heard Ma follow him in. Ma sat on his knees between Tachi's legs and put his hands on Tachi's knees lowering his head to be able to look him in the eyes. Ma raised a gentle hand tolift his chin.

"Tachi, the way I see it, you could give in and tell Shindou how you feel about him," he couldn't hold back the grimace at that suggestion. Ma saw his look and continued, "Or you could ignore the entire thing and act like nothing happened. Play off that the entire incident was beneath you." He was not thrilled with that idea either too many people had already seen his reaction. "Or," Ma continued, "You could just kill him." Tachi for some reason latched onto this suggestion. It must have shown in his eyes because Ma gave a quick intake of breath.

"I wasn't really serious about the killing part Tachi."

Tachi closed his eyes to hide the sudden pain and Ma responded by trapping his mouth in a kiss. He would have never guessed that Ma liked men, or maybe it was just him. Sure Ma had never had a steady girlfriend, but he had a past with women. Ma's mouth felt so good he couldn't help but respond. Not only respond, but take control. Ma submitted without hesitation, Tachi could tell that he had done this before. They had been friends for years, how was it that he didn't know. Why hadn't they done this before?

Tachi couldn't seem to keep his mind on one subject; Ma was driving all coherent thought out of his head. After several long and delicious moments Ma broke the kiss and pulled back to look into his eyes. He knew that the lust and hunger he was seeing in Ma's eyes was reflected in his own. Ma gave a happy smile and moved his hands down to unzip Tachi's now too tight pants. Ma's mouth began working it's way down his neck and then skipping directly to his throbbing erection.

Tachi at first couldn't believe this was happening. Ma, beautiful Ma was going down on him. It felt delicious, it felt wonderful, but he could not let this go on. He and Ma had been friends for years and this was not fair to Ma. He grabbed Ma's head and pulled him up, "Ma, please stop." He asked eventhough his body was screaming for the man to continue.

"Why stop now Tachi?" Ma's mouth may have left him, but his hand continued stroking. "I want this Tachi, I have for years."

Tachi reached out his hands and grasped Ma around the waist pulling him into his lap,

"This is why Ma." Tachi took Ma's mouth in a searing kiss, tasting some of himself on Ma's lips.

When Tachi left the studio he was feeling somewhat better about himself. He had never had sex with a man before, but he could tell that Ma had. He was just too damned receptive not to have had some experience. No matter what morals or convention said, he had to believe that what Ma and he had just done was a good thing. He had the feeling that he had just fallen in-love with Ma. But, no matter what his feelings truly were, it did not change what Shindou had done to him.

He could not keep Ma's final suggestion out of his head, 'You could just kill him' echoed in his mind. Tachi was just getting ready to leave the building when he overheard a couple of the secretarial staff having a discussion, neither of them sounded happy.

"That jerk K wants me to make plane reservations, hotel reservations, and press releases for five US cities. He only gave me three days to do it."

"Really, all that! But, why only three days?"

"Bad Luck is going to be doing a promotional tour in the United States. I guess I shouldn't feel so bad, the band did not get any notice either and they just got back from a tour."

"I know that you can do it, you are very competent. Where is their first stop going to be."

"New York City, of course. Then they're headed to Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, and finally ending in LA. They are expected to be gone for three months."

"At least you will get something of a holiday while they are gone."

Tachi turned away and left the building. There was a plan hatching in the back of his mind. He decided to walk home instead of taking a taxi. By the time he had reached his apartment building the plan was fully formed and he had decided to go through with it. Entering his apartment, he headed straight for his phone.

"Hello, uncle," In English he greeted the deep male voice that had answered the phone,

"It's Tachi. I need a small favor."

Tachi was laughing when he hung up the phone. Few people realized that he had such powerful relatives. He mostly tried to keep it quiet about his family connections. Not everyone needed to know that he came from a family that ran an organized crime ring. But, from time to time, he had found these connections to be useful.

Now that he had taken care of that little matter, he was free to explore his new and disturbing relationship with Ma.

* * *

**Yuki is going OOC in this fic, different life experiences. The Fake characters, Ryo and Dee will see considerable action in the early chapters but they are important to the story.**

**Review Please**


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry, In the prologue I forgot the disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

* * *

No Rest for the Wicked 

Chapter 2

Yuki awoke immediately, he always did. He had developed the ability to go from deep sleep to full wakefulness in only a second. He considered this to be just another hazard of his profession. He rolled to his side wanted to stop the persistent noise that had awakened him, only to realize that it was the phone ringing. Fumbling for the receiver, he finally managed to get it in his hand without knocking the entiredevice onto the floor.

"Hello," he snapped into the receiver.

"Mr. Thomas?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded irritated.

"This is Thomas," he replied automatically switching to his cool professional voice.

"Have you forgotten our meeting?"

Yuki quickly checked his watch. 'Damn,' he must have fallen asleep before requesting a wake-up call. "My apologies Mr. Smith, I will be there in half an hour."

"Do not make me wait any longer than that Mr. Thomas. Goodbye."

Yuki hung up the phone and rushed into the shower. He was going to have to hurry. Since he had slept in his clothes again, wearing the same suit was not an option. After the shower and quick change of clothes, he rushed to the meeting. He had planned on being checked out of the hotel before the meeting but since the meeting was so early, he would have plenty of time afterwards. As it was he only arrived at the meeting place with a few minutes to spare. Mr. Smith was looking highly irritated.

"I am very sorry Mr. Smith I neglected to request a wake-up call." Yuki admitted by way of an excuse. He could have any number of more acceptable excuses but the truth always worked the best. His unfailing ability to tell the truth to his superiors was one of the reasons he was able to rise so far so fast in the organization. He never sugar coated anything.

"Sit down Mr. Thomas. I do still have some time before my next appointment. We had originally planned to give you a holiday. However, there was a complication that came up last night. It is a family matter, anda family member needs a favor. Your instructions will be at your hotel when you get back. This needs your special personal touch, so there will be a bonus involved."

The meeting ended shortly after and Yuki immediately went to the hotel lobby. He had wait in line before asking the concierge for any messages. He was not surprised when he received a large manila envelope. Yuki carried the package under his arm until he reached his room. Once inside he opened the packet. He was not happy about being given another assignment so soon. He liked to let things cool down some after a job before starting another. And, usually the organization did not like for any operative to do too many jobs in a short period of time. He usually had several months.

Reading through the instructions in the packet he understood why he was getting another job so soon. This one would take place abroad. There were sending him back to his home country, back to Japan.

To his great pleasure, this was not just a straight-forward hit. His instructions stated that he was to go to Japan and win the confidence of some spoiled rock star. He hated these types of people, brats who thought that just because they had achieved some sort of fame that the world should stop turning just for them. Only after he had gotten the idiot's trust was he to do the deed.

The organization had already made all of the arrangements. Included in the packet were plane tickets, hotel reservations, and all the cash, dollars and yen, he could possibly need. They had even used his journalist cover to secure him a position a chronicler of the band. The band, Bad Luck, was getting ready to do a promotional tour here in the United States. Efficient as always, it looked like the organization already had everything arranged. It was also specifically stated that the hit was not to take place until the band had arrived here in the United States. That was just as well, he did not relish trying to get his specific job tools onto a plane and also didn't like the idea of trying to procure new ones overseas.

Yuki thought of himself as the lowest of the low, the foulest of the foul. But, he knew there was a place he would draw the line, children. Innocent children were off limits. Maybe because of what happened to him, maybe because of that eleven year old prostitute that he had failed to save, but Yuki would not kill innocence. It even made him feel protective. It was the only thing that made this crappy world worth living in. It was a good thing that the mark was a rock star; he checked the age and noted he was only nineteen. But, a rock star, even at nineteen was probably already drug addicted, sexually promiscuous, and quite jaded.

Pulling out a couple of the pictures provided, Yuki studied the face of his next hit. True, the kid didn't look jaded, but pictures did not always tell the truth. He carefully examined the close-up. The mark had raven black hair and huge violet eyes. He wondered if the eye color was real and decided that it must be contact lenses. Violet eyes were not that common in the United States and just did not happen in Japan. The kid's features were delicate and very feminine. In the full body shot Yuki could see that appeared to have a very slim build and compared to the others in the picture he was also very short. A nervous chill went down his spine, kind of a delicious shiver as he realized that his was one of the most attractive men he had ever seen. He was going to have fun with this one.

The demographics page listed the kid's name as Shindou Shuichi. Address: Tokyo; Profession: Lead Singer, Bad Luck; Age: 19. The sheet also listed the height, weight, parent's names, etc…, all things that were irrelevant. All he needed were the pictures.

To his great disappointment he noted that his flight was scheduled for later tonight. He would need to get to his apartment in New Jersey to pack and gather what supplies he would be able to take. Also, he would need all of his equipment for a journalism assignment. He managed to get his things here packed quickly and was checked out of the hotel in less than an hour. One final check over to make sure that he had left nothing incriminating behind and he was out the door. He only had one bag to carry so he took the short walk to catch the next commuter train. It was less than another hour and he was back in his own apartment.

Packing up here took a little more time. Business suits would not do at all for this assignment. He did include one suit, just in case, but he mostly packed jeans and button down shirts. Anticipating cool weather, he also threw in a black trench coat. He got himself changed into black jeans and a white turtleneck pullover sweater. He had just pulled on black boots when a knock sounded on his door.

Yuki opened the door to find a man, obviously a police officer getting ready to knock again. The man looked surprised when he pulled the door open.

"Excuse me sir, I'm sorry to disturb you. My name is detective Drake. My partner," he pointed to a man standing at the end of the hall, "and I are here investigating a murder that took place two nights ago."

Yuki was able to control the sudden panic that rose in his chest and allowed nothing to show on his face. "A murder officer?"

"Yeah, one of your neighbors was found shot to death in his apartment this morning. So far we are thinking it was a robbery gone bad. We were wondering if you had seen or heard anything on the night in question?"

Relief washed over him, they were not looking for him. Once again he kept any emotion from his face, except vague concern. "I'm sorry officer I have been staying in the city for the past few nights, finishing an assignment. And, as you can see," Yuki painted back to his bags, "I am getting ready to leave for another."

"What type of work do you do? Mr….?"

"Yuki, Eiri Yuki. I am an independent journalist," he pulled his press credentials out of his pocket. "I am getting ready to leave the cover the upcoming United States promotional tour of the Japanese rock band, Bad Luck. I was chosen for this assignment because I speak Japanese fluently." Yuki gave the man a small bow, "Now, if you will excuse me, I only have a short time to get something to eat and still make my flight. Good luck catching that criminal scum." He did not fully close his door until he saw the detective approach the next apartment.

Quickly gathering his bags, Yuki left the apartment and made his way to corner café. Determined that he was going to going to let any police see that really planned to eat, he managed to stuff down a Gyros and grab the next train back into the city.

When he arrived at the airport, he still had a couple of hours until his flight. He hated to admit that he was terrified of flying. So he always took the opportunity beforehand to get as drunk as possible. Besides, he really needed to calm his nerves after the police visit. Entering the bar, he began to drink himself senseless. Right now he was just some poor excuse for a traveler who had an unreasonable fear of flying.

* * *

After Mr. Yuki's door closed, Detective Drake wasted no time in getting out to the street where Dee and Ryo were waiting. Drake didn't care too much for Ryo, always getting in his was with Dee, but since they were a couple now he supposed he would have to get used to it. They were sitting in front in an unmarked car. The window was already down when he got to the car and Dee was waiting, "Are you sure that's our guy? He did not bite on anything." 

"I told you," Dee sighed, "We're not sure of anything yet, so far there is no hard evidence just my stupid hunch. But, he did have some suspicious activity in the city during the past three professional hits that we have traced to Aizawa. We also know that he meets with on of their operatives. Other than that, we have zilch!"

"If he is your perp," Drake grinned, "He is once cool customer. He never even flinched and managed to act concerned about our cover story." His grin widened even further, "But, I did learn something I bet you don't know."

"Cut the crap Drake," Ryo shouted from the other side of the car, "If you know something, you had better tell us now."

Drake leaned his head into the car window, "Give me a kiss Dee. I'll tell you for a kiss." Smacking lips pursued Dee further into the car.

_CLICK! _The loud sound of a gun cocking sounded in the car.

"I suggest you keep your hands and you lips off of him Drake." Ryo stated this calmly but he was holding a loaded gun to Drake's head.

"Gee Ryo, chill out man, I was only funnin, you know?" A nervous giggle followed.

_Click._ The gun was removed from Drake's head and Ryo carefully replaced it in his shoulder holster. Drake pulled back out of the car with a sigh of relief.

"Just tell us what you know." Ryo asked coldly.

Drake pouted but finally gave in. "This guy, Eiri Yuki, he said his name was, he is some kind of freelance journalist. He says that he is leaving for Japan tonight on some kind of assignment.

"Shit!" Dee yelled, "Shit, shit, shit. We'll lose him. If he is our perp and you made him nervous, he could leave the country and never return." Dee started the engine and put the car in gear. Tires spun as he peeled out, "Call the chief Ryo. I think we're heading to Japan."

Dee drove through the streets at a breakneck pace and turned to give Ryo a leer, "You know Ryo, that thing with Drake and the gun? I like it when you get all possessive like that."

"Just shut up and drive Dee."

They were able to make the airport with fifteen minutes to spare. Their chief had made most of the arrangements over the phone while they were packing. They were given so many threats about the expenses that Ryo finally offered to pay for the plane ticket out of pocket. This seemed to calm the chief who assured then that the department would pay, within reason.

Once inside the just managed to get their bags checked in time to run for the plane. They were the last ones allowed to board. New York City's finest did not travel first class, for them it was economy all the way. They had to walk to the back of the plane to find their seats. At least being seated in the back gave them the opportunity to get a look at their fellow passengers.

Ryo was able to identify their man sitting at the back of the business class section. Except for the partition, they were only a few aisles away. Since they were seated in the center of the row, they could see the back of his head at all times. But, all the guy did was sleep. Ryo thought this was a really good idea too and snuggled his head onto Dee's shoulder. Soon, he was asleep too. Dee tried to make himself comfortable and enjoyed Ryo's closeness. He resisted the temptation to wrap Ryo in a hug, so he settled for a discrete kiss on the forehead. Dee remained awake until after they caught the connecting flight in LA and then he would sleep himself.

Right now, he and Ryo were unofficial. The chief was having some difficulties with the Japanese authorities. He really hoped things would be straightened out by the time they arrived. If they stayed unofficial and got caught, they could be charged with stalking. He vowed that he would never let something like that happen to Ryo. Thinking about Ryo again caused him to reach over and take the man's hand, gently stroking the fingers. Ryo sighed and snuggled closer.

* * *

Shuichi woke up in his bed, alone, for the first time in months. He remembered that he had a really weird dream. He had been on tour and he kept feeling like there was someone staring at him, he would turn and there would be a man standing there, but he couldn't see his face. It was kind of creepy. It was times like these that he knew that he was going to miss having Hiro in his bed. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he realized that he did not like waking up alone, not at all. He was just about ready to roll over and go back to sleep when he heard someone crashing through his front door. Sliding to the floor and attempting to crawl under the bed he was caught by one foot and pulled up, head dangling. 

"Shindou, get your ass up, you and Nakano both!" With a relieved sigh he realized it was only K, and he was yelling at a decibel designed to wake the neighbors.

"It's my feet that are up K, if you put me down, I might be able to at least put some pants on." Shu managed to kick K in the stomach and with a slight grunt K tossed him onto the bed. Shu sat up, thankful to still be breathing. "What are you doing here anyway we have the morning off, and I just want some sleep."

K's eyes scanned the room, he was obviously ignoring the question, "Where's Nakano?"

Shu sighed K would be impossible until he got his way, "I don't know K, try that chick Ayaka's place. Hiro is with her now." Shu felt the tears coming and rolled over so that K wouldn't see them.

A shifting of weight on the bed told him that K taken the liberty of having a seat. "Are you all right with this?" There was true concern in the man's voice.

"I am hurt if that is what you are asking." It was difficult but he managed to keep the strain out of his voice, "But, I'm not as hurt as I should be, if you understand what I mean."

"I'm not sure if I do Shuichi," K rarely called him by his given name and the use slightly alarmed him. "If that is the way you feel I'll take you word for it."

Shu wasn't done getting it out of his system yet, "Do you know what the worst part is K? It wasn't finding out about Hiro and Ayaka, it was finding out about me, and finding out that I did not love Hiro enough. I was only holding on to him because I did not want to be alone. I was being selfish." Real tears started flowing now he did not even attempt to hold them back.

It was a shock when he felt himself being pulled into K's arms. K was never affectionate. But, the arms were gentle and comforting. He was held until he managed to cry himself out.

"Better?" K asked after the tears ended. Shu nodded and wiped his nose on his sleeve. He couldn't help but hear the disgusted sound that K made.

Smiling gently up at K, "Thank you, I think I just needed a shoulder to cry on."

"Sure Shindou," _That_ name was back again, "seeing that you're happy is part of my job."

Shu laughed understanding K fully, "You really are an ass, aren't you?" It was more of a statement of fact than a question.

"And you, you're an idiot. You are the only person I have ever met that gets cheated on by a long time lover and then claims that it is his fault. That may happen in books, sappy romances, but I have never seen it in real life. You are a study Shindou and I have yet to figure you out."

"There is nothing to figure K, what you see is what you get." Shu took another swipe at his still wet eyelashes, "So, do you want to make this into an encounter session, or would you like to tell me why you are here?"

"Shit, I nearly forgot about that. You're needed at the studio this morning. There is a journalist flying in from New York this morning. He is supposed to chronicle your promotional tour. He is also the person who is going to assisting you with English he is fluent in both languages English and Japanese." K suddenly looked nervous and would not meet his eyes, "Sakano wants him to stay here with you until you leave for New York."

"Here? With me, why me?"

"To help you with some English phrases before you go. It will be good practice."

Shu groaned and rolled over. "Will we ever be allowed any rest?" It was a rhetorical question. "Okay, when do I need to be there?"

"Sakano wants you there in two hours and I still need to hunt down Nakano. And Shindou, if you need me, you can always call. I know you don't trust me, but you should." K was up and out of the room with that cryptic statement.

Climbing slowly out of bed, Shu could not see that he had any choice but to get himself up and ready for this meeting. He had even forgotten to ask K the guy's name. Not that the name really mattered, he would be finding out soon enough. But, it would have been nice to know the name of the person he was going to be living with for the next few days.

If the man expected some sort of leather clad rock god, he was going to have another think coming. Shu showered and changed into his usual shorts, tee shirt, and athletic shoes. Shoving a quick breakfast of cold cereal down and washing his dirty dishes, he was out of the apartment in less that an hour, only stopping to grab his hat and sunglasses on the way out

* * *

. 

Tachi was already beginning to regret his rash actions. However, he was not willing to change anything. The move would further ASK's prospects with the public and at NG. And, there was no way that he could back down with his powerful uncle that would only show that he was weak. If there was any guilt, he knew he could live with it.

Tachi was walking to the studio this morning, ASK, as usual, was scheduled for practice this morning. This was a morning like any other morning, except he was going in early today. He had received word that the operative that his uncle had arranged would be arriving today and he wanted to try to get a look at him. He had reached the studio in record time, anticipation urging him on. He was getting ready to open the building's front door when he heard Ma's voice calling out to him to wait up. He turned to see Ma jogging towards him with a welcoming smile on his face. Ma's arms went around his waist and the blonde's lips sought his.

"Not here Ma!" it was a soft hiss, "I'm not ready for a public display." Tachi actually felt some of Ma's hurt when the light went out of Ma's eyes.

"Don't worry love," he smiled his sweetest smile, "everything is fine. I'll come by your place after practice, that is, if you don't have any other plans?"

Watching Ma's face he decided that Ma blushed like a girl. He had seen Ma blush before, but never an actual shy blush and never for him. The light came back into his eyes, "Sure Tachi, I'd like that."

Just as he reached to pull the door open again a pink-haired blur went rushing past them almost knocking Ma down. "That little bastard…!" Tachi started to give chase. Ma put out a hand to stop him.

"Let it go Tachi," Ma was pleading, "Just this once, for me?"

Tachi took pity and did wrap an arm around Ma's shoulders. Yes, he would let it go for now. After all, he would not have to put with it for much longer.

* * *

Read and Review 


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

* * *

Strange Bedfellows

Chapter 3

Stepping off the plane in Tokyo, Yuki knew this was not going to be one of his best days. He had slept nearly the entire trip, at least the leg from Los Angeles to Tokyo. His muscles were cramped, grumpy, and severely jet-lagged. It also did not take him long to realize that Tokyo, and probably all of Japan had not changed much. He had been assigned several overseas jobs in the past, but he had always avoided Japan and any associated memories. His fear that he would be assaulted by unwanted childhood associations proved unfounded. No sense of nostalgia at all intruded and he went to gather his luggage with a new sense of determination.

After gathering his one small suitcase he began scanning the crowd. There was supposed to be a representative from NG Records here to meet him. At first he did not see the diminutive man holding a sign with his name. He had been told that he would be met by a tall blonde American who liked to be called K who was the band's manager. The man who did show up turned out to be Bad Luck's producer Sakano. He was dressed in the typical suit and wore glasses. He also seemed very nervous and hyper, bowing repeatedly and muttering incessantly. The man's behavior only served to further annoy him

"I really must apologize, Mr. Yuki. The man who was scheduled to meet you, Mr. K, has found himself in a bit of an emergency this morning. One of Bad Luck's band members has turned up missing and he is attempting to track him down. Mr. K will be joining us as soon as he is able to locate the boy. Mr. K has sent his deepest regrets."

'A missing musician,' Yuki thought to himself, 'probably the little brat he was hired to hit.' Ever since he had first read up on his mark he had been calling the kid 'Brat'. And, the fact that the brat was now missing was just another point against him in his book. This might mean a delay in his plans, he was not working on a huge timeline here and any delay could be disastrous.

There was a limousine waiting at the airport entrance and Yuki climbed in and sat back trying to relax. It had been a long flight and eventhough he had slept nearly the entire trip, he was still tired and he was hungry. The limo did not make very good time through the heavy morning traffic. He was able to relax for a while allowing some of the tension to slip away. By the time they arrived at the studio his mood had improved slightly.

The building was very modern, all chrome and glass. He did not take particular notice of any of the features. It was not relevant to his current job. If the hit was to be committed here, then his eyes would have been searching for the tiniest details anything that he could use to his advantage.

Once inside the building, Sakano led him to what was obviously a recording studio. Making sure that he had a seat, Sakano excused himself promising coffee and snacks in a few minutes. Taking his sunglasses off, Yuki examined the room, although he had never been in a recording studio, it looked very typical of what he had seen in pictures. He was obviously in the studio itself. He could see the glass walls of the sound booth and the control room from where he was standing. The only unusual feature of the room was a small dance platform at the far end of the room.

Looking at the platform Yuki was surprised to see a kid in shorts and a tee-shirt dancing on the stage. He wondered why he had not seen him when he first came in. The kid had obviously not seen him either. He could not see the boy's face because of a pair of large sunglasses and his hair was stuffed under his hat. The kid had a set of headphones jammed over the hat and was dancing to a beat only he could hear. He guessed the kid to be about sixteen, just going by his body. Someone's child maybe, or a friend of one of the musicians, he didn't know and did not really care but, the dance was intriguing.

He found himself watching fascinated. What, at first, had looked only like wild movement on the kid's part was really a very seductive performance. The kid's movements were erotic and Yuki could imagine that he was watching lovers on the stage. Suddenly he felt a sense of embarrassment and his face grew hot, thinking about what it would be like having that lithe body wrapped around his. As young as the kid looked Yuki doubted that he even knew what kind of picture he was making.

Sakano returned shortly and offered him coffee and pastries. Yuki took a cake and began shoving it into his mouth to try to cover the flush on his cheeks. But, he still could not pull his eyes from the stage.

"Don't mind him Mr. Yuki," Sakano apologized after following Yuki's gaze, "he's always doing stuff like this, you'll get used to it."

Yuki silently decided that he would never be able to get 'used' to seeing this. Could someone get used to an itch they couldn't scratch? Just as he was starting to feel his face flush again the doors to the studio burst open. A tall, blonde, American male came bursting in dragging a surly looking red haired man by the shirt collar. A very short green haired boy followed close behind, this kid refused to look up past the toes of his shoes.

The blonde, whom Yuki assumed to be K, grabbed the red head and started shaking him hard enough to make the red head's teeth rattle and began waving a gun in his face. K was yelling something about groupies and diseases. Sakano did finally manage to separate the two. When the scuffle was over K was still huffing in displeasure and the red headed boy looked like he was going to vomit on the floor. Everyone was so busy watching the little scene, no one saw the kid from the stage approach the group.

Yuki had already identified that neither the red head nor the green haired boy were his mark, and he was wondering where the brat was.

"Well Sakano you owe me that bonus, I got them all here on time." K looked very smug at the announcement.

Yuki could only wonder where the mark was if everyone was there. Suddenly the ball of energy that had been dancing on the stage stepped in front of him grinning like an idiot.

"Wow! You have the most amazing eyes. Are you Japanese? You are, aren't you?"

K took two steps and was behind the boy slapping him on the back of the head hard enough to cause the hat and sunglasses to go flying across the room. Pink hair flew out from under the cap and Yuki nearly choked, 'This kid was his mark?'

"Aw K what did you have to do that for, that hurt?" The kid was rubbing the back of his head.

"How many times do I have to tell you Shindou? You do not wear you disguise in the studio, especially not when we are meeting guests!"

The kid looked down at his toes, "Sorry K, I forgot."

Very quickly the kid forgot all of his remorse and raised his head to look up at Yuki. Violet eyes met his gold and Yuki felt a shock that went clear down to his toes. He knew that the kid felt it too because he could a small gasp escape those perfect pink lips. The kid then bowed his head and spoke to the floor, "I hope you will forgive my earlier rudeness sensei?"

Yuki had expected to hear some sort of mocking tone from the brat, but there wasn't even a hint in his voice. He had to take a deep breath before speaking, "Sure kid, no problem," he had to choke the words out and he hoped that no one would notice the stress in his voice. This was his mark? This was not some spoiled rock star, only a kid.

Introductions were formally made and Yuki was ushered into an office with the others. They were given instructions about what was to be expected of all of them. Yuki was specifically instructed as to what topics he could cover. It was pretty must standard until K added one last part, under no uncertain terms was Yuki to ask Shindou about his love life.

"He is very delicate right now Mr. Yuki." K told him with no further explanation.

Everyone was dismissed from the meeting room but Sakano held him back for a few minutes. "I need to ask a favor of you Mr. Yuki. I had attempted to arrange for a translator and tutor for Shindou-san. He speaks absolutely no English. Since I was unable to secure someone else's services at the last minute, I was hoping you would assist him. This would mean that you have to stay at Shindou's apartment for the duration of your stay here. It would mean an extra bonus for you and you would not have to worry about a hotel charge. Would you be willing to assist him?"

"Sakano-san," Yuki was trying to sound as exasperated as possible, "I do not mind assisting, of course, but I have found that I am impatient and not a very good teacher."

"Then try not to think of it as teaching, just try to give him pointers and some of the more important phrases he might need. Will you agree?"

Yuki glanced back through the glass to see that the brat was earnestly singing his lungs out up on the stage and felt a sudden chill run down his spine. One of the biggest parts of this assignment had been to get close to the kid and then betray him. This set-up would be giving him the perfect opportunity.

"I will do it." He gave a small bow to Sakano.

Sakano left the room leaving him standing, wondering what he was supposed to do next. But, as soon as the door closed behind Sakano, it reopened and K strode in. It was time to get down to business. He interviewed K first. The man was more than open with his present day work but refused to answer any questions about his past before becoming involved in the music business.

His interview with Sakano went well, however at times the man would become so hyper that he was difficult to understand. The actual band members were next Fujisaki Suguru was first, the shy green haired boy, turned out to be the keyboard player. At least he was shy until you got him taking about music, then he was in a world all of his own. Yuki couldn't understand more than half of what he was saying, but he was recording the interview and could ask someone else for an explanation later, in layman's terms. The red head, now much calmer was Nakano Hiroshi, guitarist. He already had the impression that this guy was more of typical rock star because of the incident with K earlier today. But, this guy seemed to be really down to earth and extremely intelligent to boot.

His final interview of the day was to be with Shindou Shuichi, the brat. The minute the kid took a seat, Yuki knew that the interview was going to be difficult. He couldn't seem to be able to look away from the kids eyes. The brat finally squirmed a little in his seat under his gaze.

"Yuki-san, do I have dirt on my face? You keep staring like I do."

Yuki realized that he was staring and reminded himself that he needed to focus. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid jetlag is finally catching up with me." He faked a yawn to make his story more plausible. Tearing his eyes away he concentrated on the questions he had chosen to ask and was finally able to start the interview.

The entire interview was making him extremely nervous. No one had ever made him feel like this before. He usually didn't feel anything. The brat laughed and smiled easily and more than willing to answer any questions he had. One of the last questions had to do with the singer's self-image compared to his public image. The brat laughed so hard at this statement, Yuki wondered if he had actually said something wrong.

"It's funny Yuki-san, I have the public image of sex god, I am very good at making girls squirm and faint when I am on the stage. In real life I am single with no real prospects. I have never been to club in my life, unless I was on their stage. I like to stay at home and watch TV, play video games, and friends usually come to my house."

Yuki was amazed surely this was not the truth. Never in his life had he heard of a rock star, at least not a young one, who was a homebody; it would ruin their public image. It was a relief when he finally ran out of questions and the interview ended. The brat actually came over and gave him a hug before he left the room. Yuki was left sitting speechless until Sakano came in and announced that it was time for lunch.

Sakano actually sprang for lunch in the commissary. Now that everyone was back at the table Yuki could feel that there was a great deal of tension around the table. K kept shooting heated glances at Nakano and then sympathetic ones to Shindou. Suguru, when he bothered to look up at all also kept sneaking glances at Nakano. Nakano would sometimes return K's heated looks but seemed to be refusing to look at Shindou. The brat himself was trying to be friendly to everyone. To Yuki, the kid seemed less and less brat-like all the time. Sakano was talking a mile a minute, trying to act like there was nothing wrong at all, which only made things worse. But, Yuki could tell that whatever the problem was, everyone was blaming Nakano.

After pushing his food around his plate several times, Shindou finally stood, "Sorry, I need to return to the studio to work on lyrics. Thank you Sakano-san for the lunch." None of the food on his plate had been eaten. After a few seconds Nakano also excused himself and chased after Shindou.

* * *

As soon as Ryo and Dee left the plane they caught sight of Yuki getting into a limo that was marked NG Records, it was a good thing it was also written in English since Ryo could speak some Japanese, but admitted that could not read any. At least they now knew where he was going, they would not have to play follow that cab. Both had to admit that the NG limo picking Yuki up made his story of being here to chronicle a band legitimate. They decided not to speculate about anything for a while at least until they could get more information.

Ryo started to hail a cab for them but Dee stopped him. "I still need to call the chief; we need to know if we are legal yet." Not wanting Yuki to get too much of a head start, Dee ran to the bank of phones and dialed New York. It only took a minute of chief's screaming for him to find out they could operate under Japanese authority. He hung up the phone before the chief was finished to save his eardrums. Ryo was waiting impatiently.

"We're all set. We just need to check in at nearest Japanese equivalent of a precinct. It has been arranged that they will give us temporary ID and authority."

The cab ride was short at least once they found a driver that spoke English. When they arrived their IDs were all ready, however the chief wanted a word with them before they would be handed out. The man's English was terrible and Ryo's Japanese was worse. They finally ended up bringing a translator in.

Ryo took the lead in explaining about the man they were following and what the exact situation was at this time. There were agreements made that if the man committed any crimes on Japanese soil, it would be left up to the Japanese police to make the arrest. It took over an hour to get everything settled and both he and Ryo were getting antsy that they might still lose the guy. When they finally managed to get out with their IDs, they had to grab another cab; luckily the first one they pulled over had an English speaking driver. They were finally able to sit back and relax for a while as they were driven to the NG offices.

"You go for open house?" The cab driver asked out of nowhere.

Ryo and Dee just looked at each other, not knowing what the man was talking about.

"NG is having an open house?"

"Today, in afternoon. Daughter go." The cabbie pointed to himself, "Daughter love Bad Luck singer Shindou. She hopes to see." The man chuckled and Ryo and Dee could both tell that the didn't believe that the daughter had a single shot of ever laying eyes on this Shindou. In truth Dee agreed, these sorts of things were done to entice people, without ever delivering the goods.

The driver was silent for the rest of the trip. When they arrived at NG, they had already let the cab go and discovered that the open house would not start until 3:00 pm. There was no way anyone was getting into the studio until then. There would be studio tours given and then a mini concert to follow, featuring Bad Luck. Maybe they were wrong the girl would get to see this Shindou after all.

Not wanting to try to get another cab, they took a stroll around the building and past the parking garage. There were no less that three limos there and all were marked with the NG logo. They were all identical and there was no way to tell if the one Yuki had ridden in was there. Not getting anything useful there, they continued their walk and ended up at a café across the street from the front of the building and ordered lunch. Good thing they served American hamburgers, Dee didn't know what most of the stuff on the menu was. After they had eaten Ryo started again.

"I really does seem like this guy is legit Dee. At least he seems to be working under a legitimate cover. I think we should call Drake and have him check for any of this guy's past publications?"

"Okay, I suppose that I can," Dee really hated having to call Drake. They should have attempted to do this research before they left. The just hadn't had the time. "But, I still intend on going to that Open House, at least for a while. We can afford to look like a couple of goofy tourists."

"You call Drake. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Ryo was escaping and Dee knew it. Ryo disliked Drake even more that he did.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

Ryo pointed down the street, "To rent a car."

* * *

Thank you to all my reviewers.

AthenBlade--They meet but Yuki is being Yuki

sua--Thank you, keep reading

girlo-Thank you for reading

Takki--K and Hiro will eventually, definately.

* * *

Read and Review 


	5. Chapter 4

Sorry, In the prologue I forgot the disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

I apologize for mistaking Drake with JJ. It's been a long time since I read Fake.

* * *

Confrontations

Chapter 4

Shu just couldn't handle the tension at the table any longer. It was obvious that everyone was blaming Hiro when it had not really been Hiro's fault. The saddest thing was that Hiro wouldn't even look at him. Every time he would try to catch Hiro's eye to give him a smile to let him know that everything was fine, Hiro would look away deliberately.

Once in the studio, Shu slumped against the wall. Hiro must hate him now. He knew that the band could not go on if he didn't have Hiro by his side. He could stand not having him in his bed, but he needed him by his side. His eyes filled with tears and he allowed himself to slide down the wall. He knew he was going to have a good hard cry.

"Shu?" a hesitant voice spoke. He was surprised that Hiro had bothered to follow him.

"We really need to talk Shu."

He raised his tear filled eyes to meet Hiro's gray ones. "I'm sorry K gave you such a rough time. I didn't mean for that to happen. I was angry and worried. Not only didn't you come home last night, you didn't even bother to call. I didn't know what to tell him."

"K was pretty angry," Hiro laughed, "You and I; we've known each other forever. You have never lied in your life, and I wouldn't have expected you to lie to K. If it is any consolation I was not at Ayaka's place. K actually found me in the park. I spent the night there. Sure, I was drunk on my ass, but I spent the night cold, alone, on a park bench."

"It is still your home too Hiro. There was no reason for you to stay away. You do have your own bedroom no one said that you had to come to my bed. I never threw you out."

"I know that, I know you would never do something like that. I was just still sorting out my own feelings. I did not want to complicate things by seeing you."

"Did I hurt you that badly?"

"No Shu, if anything I hurt myself. Deep down, I always knew how you felt."

"Are we still friends Hiro. I really need you for a friend."

"Always Shu."

"I know that I am being nosy, but I just have to ask. Are you in love with Ayaka? If you are, I have to tell you that I don't really like her. As your friend I need to tell you that I don't think she's the right person for you."

Hiro actually burst out laughing, "You know that is one of the things that I got sorted out last night. And, the answer is NO! I don't think I'll even see her again. I don't need someone who is only there for my fame or my money, no matter how good the sex is."

"Very funny Hiro," Shu felt some of the tension evaporate and his own heart was starting to feel a little better, "So, is there anyone else? Someone you're thinking about." It was obvious from the way Hiro looked away that he did not want to answer this particular question, but Shu still managed to catch the twinkle in his eye. "Oh ho, so there is! Come on Hiro, you have to tell me, even if you only tell me to make me jealous."

"I can't really say there is anything there yet. But, something did happen this morning that made me pay attention."

"K? Hiro, do you mean K!" Shu knew his mouth was hanging open, but he also knew he was right.

"Shh!" Hiro quickly tried to quiet him.

"Hiro, he's like married, to a woman. They even have a kid."

"She's not here now, is she?" Hiro grinned evilly. "What about you Shu? I saw you looking at that Yuki guy. He is gorgeous."

"I don't know Hiro, there's something about his eyes that scares me. Sometimes I see a world of pain and hurt. Other times they're hard and steely, you know like K's when he's mad. But, what really scares me is when they go all cold and empty."

Shu sat back for a moment and thought, and he had to admit that he had not considered the situation before. He certainly was attracted to the man and the eyes were part of it. He had also caught the man looking at him several times. It might just be possible. A dangerous affair might be just what he needed.

* * *

Yuki excused himself from the table soon after Hiro left. He used the excuse that he needed to stretch his legs more than he needed food, it was an excuse but it was also true. Plus, he had eaten so many of Sakano's little cakes he was now feeling slightly sick. His real intentions were to follow Hiro. He assumed that Hiro had left to follow Shindou and he really wanted to know what was going on. Walking quickly, he caught up just in time to see Hiro enter the studio. He waited a few moments before entering himself.

As soon as he was inside he could hear the slight murmur of voices coming from the back of the room. Quietly he worked his way back in a position where he could listen without being noticed. Almost as soon as he was in position he realized that he was listening to the ending of a relationship and suddenly felt embarrassed. He should have guessed that this was what was going on from all of the uncomfortable silences between the two. For some strange reason he felt that he was intruding, eventhough this might have some later bearing on his assignment.

One thing stuck in his head, the brat liked men. No wonder he had laughed about all the women swooning for him. He had an idea how he could definitely use this to his advantage, and have fun doing it. His brain nearly stopped when he heard his own name mentioned, but this was the last of the conversation he heard as his ears were filled with the sound of a gun cocking.

The cold metal was pressed against his temple. There was warm breath tickling his ear and a voice whispered "I really hope you are not planning on publishing that Mr. Yuki. Not only will NG not approve it, but I will kill you if it gets out." Yuki shifted his head enough to see K standing behind him holding the gun.

Yuki's initial impression of K had been man who liked waving a gun around, but it was just for show. I never thought that the man capable of using one seriously. But, damn the guy was good; he had not even heard him approach. He felt the gun removed from his head and watched for K to lower it.The Americandid allow the gun to drop some, but Yuki didn't heara telltale click to announce the gun had been uncocked. This meant that K was willing to listen to what he had to say but was reserving judgment until the explanation was given. Yuki decided that he would live with that.

"I don't suppose you're going to believe that I just happened to stumble onto the conversation and then was too embarrassed to show myself."

"Nope, try again," K's voice was barely audible.

"The stumbling across the conversation part is true. However, when I heard what was being said, of course I thought of using it in the article. This would be sensational news. Of course I had to listen, I couldn't help myself. After a while, I did get embarrassed and was afraid to move in case they did hear me."

The gun was once again placed to his head. "And the article Mr. Yuki, I trust that none of this will even be hinted at."

"You have my word K. I do not lie."

The gun was lowered again and this time he did hear the click. Irritated with the entire scenario Yuki spun on his heel, slashing his right hand down at the same time. K's gun was now in his hands. "You should be more careful K. Guns are not toys." He spun the gun a couple of times around the end of his finger before handing it back with a grin.

"You know, I have seen you before Yuki, back in New York." This was a warning and Yuki could read it clearly. "You may have faster hands," K continued, "but then you caught me off guard, it will not happen again. I admit that I have not figured out your game yet, but I will. You had better not be planning anything that would harm any of my band members. I do have powerful friends too Mr. Yuki." Before he could react, K disappeared into the shadows again.

Yuki decided that he did not have time to think about K's comments now. Glancing at his watch he noted that it was time for the band to start rehearsing for this evening's mini concert. It was a good thing he really didn't have much to do now, he was extremely distracted not only by K's comments, but by what he had heard from the brat earlier.

During a break in the rehearsal, the brat came over to ask him what he thought of the new song they were practicing. The kid was so sweet and honest that he found himself dropping the Brat moniker all together, everyone else called the kid Shu and when he asked permission to use the name, the smile he got in return nearly drove him to his knees. He had never metan adult aged person before who was so completely ingenuous. There was no guile here at all. Every emotion the boy felt was reflected in those luminous eyes.

His breath stopped. This was a truly innocent person. A person who was not only innocent but was also willing to take the world's hurts onto his own shoulders. This time when Shu reached out for a hug his own arms wrapped around the boy returning the hug fiercely.

By the time Shu returned to the stage to practice he was a very troubled man. He had already started to regret taking this assignment when that sneaky manager had caught him. And, Shindou, it could all be just an act. It was easy to think this when he was not looking into those eyes, but deep in his heart he knew better. He would give it just a little more time before making his decision, if Shindou was for real, there was no way he was going to go through with the hit.

"Mr. Yuki?" Sakano's irritating voice interrupted his thoughts, "Mr.Yuki, NG Records is hosting an open house afternoon," like he didn't already know this, "Bad Luck is scheduled to perform. I would like for you to attend their performance so that you can familiarize yourself with their stage presence." He agreed cordially finding he really did want to see the show.

He left the studio after Sakano and joined the group going down the stairs. There was a stage set up in the middle of the main lobby and Yuki found a position to lean against a back wall. Sakano took a spot next to him, arms dangling at his sides. He explained that Bad Luck would have the first performance so they would be allowed to leave early. They needed to get some rest before catching their flight tomorrow afternoon.

The entire performance was timed perfectly, they opened the doors to let the waiting crowd in and Bad Luck took the stage. Yuki immediately noticed that Shu had lost his little boy look. This new, sexy look once again caused Yuki to revise his opinion. Maybe the innocence was all just an act; the kid on the stage right now was far from innocent looking.He had donned the tightest suede pants he had ever seen. They accentuated his slim legs and waist and defined his perfectly rounded ass. His shirt was sleeveless pink mesh belly shirt. The outfit left very little to the imagination.

Yuki himself liked to wear leather but he could not even begin to imagine how the kid managed to move in those pants, but move he did. Bad Luck's first song choice was now considered an oldie according to Sakano, it had been on their first CD and the remix was still extremely popular at dance clubs across Japan. The second number was a slower ballad. It was something new they had been working on and wanted to test the waters tonight before deciding to add it to their next CD. Yuki couldn't help but notice that eventhough this song did not feature much movement on Shu's part all eyes in the crowd were still drawn to him.

It was the third song that really grabbed his attention. It started with a blatantly sexual beat and Shu was making the most of it. With a gasp, Yuki realized that he recognized the dance as the same one Shu had working on earlier that morning. The practice that morning was nothing compared to what was going on up on that stage right now. He had no doubt that everyone in the audience would be leaving a little more excited than when they came in. Including him.

Yuki peeled his eyes from those delicious jiggling hips up to Shu's face, trying to judge the look on the kid's face. It was a mistake, as soon as he looked up violet eyes met his gold and he felt the shock all over again. With a sudden movement Shindou hopped off of the stage and was making his way through the audience, he paused to dance with several people pressing his wiggling body against a few of the people. Several girls got the special dance and one man, a russet-haired American looking man who appeared extremely embarrassed by the interaction. Shortly afterwards Shu started approaching him and their gazes locked again.

He realized that he was panting in anticipation of what he knew was coming. It seemed to take forever for the kid to get there but when he finally arrived Yuki could see that Shu was as turned on as he was, those luminous violet eyes were now hooded and clouded with passion. He shivered when he felt Shu's leg wrap around his and an extremely hard pelvis was ground into his hip. He wanted this, god he wanted this, he didn't care how many people were watching. Yuki turned his frame to face Shu, letting the kid feel exactly what he was doing to him. Shu once again raised his shrouded eyes to meet his as the last of the song drew out. Yuki slowly lowered his head and Shu's lips lightly brushed his.

Suddenly all of the lights came on and Shu was gone. Sakano was quickly ushering Shu out a side door with K close in his heels. The rush of the crowd towards that door was frightening in its speed. Yuki pressed against the wall, not only to stay out of the way but also to try to get his own body under control. His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest and he realized that he was panting.

It was nothing short of a melee right now. He would only imagine what would happen to Shu if that screaming crowd managed to get through that door. If that happened, he wouldn't have to worry about being able to do his job the crowd would take care of Shindou for him. Shu would be torn to pieces.

Yuki was finally managing to get his senses back together when Sakano reappeared and asked that he stay for a little while longer to see the next performers. He explained that the band, ASK, where the chief rivals at NG for Bad Luck. He thought that it might be good background information. He agreed to stay, mainly because he was curious about ASK. He had done some of his own research on the plane and had discovered that the nephew of his employer was a member of this band. It was this nephew that he asked for the hit. Once the band took the stage he could see the resemblance.

Eventhough he was no sort of music critic, he could immediately tell the differences between ASK and Bad Luck. ASK was technically better but they did not generate the same excitement as Bad Luck. The main difference was the stage presence and charisma of Shindou Shuichi. It was no wonder that Aizawa Tachi wanted Shuichi dead. ASK would never be anything but second best to Bad Luck.

Yuki would be called in a few hours to give a report, and he really planned on giving a full report. He planned to include the fact this hit was matter of pure jealousy. He had been led to believe that Shindou had been doing anything to get to the top, everything from sleeping with the boss to deliberately taking studio time from ASK. Yuki had seen that ASK and Bad Luck each had their own studios so, there were not any time conflicts. And, he knew that Shindou was not sleeping with any of his bosses

ASK was just starting their second song when Yuki felt a body lean against his. He glanced over to see that Shu had come back. He was completely back to the way Yuki had first see him this morning, complete with disguise of hat and sunglasses. As Yuki stared down, Shu pulled the glasses down and all he could do was to stare into those beautiful eyes again.

"Did you like the performance Yuki-san?"

"Yes, Shu, I really liked the performance." Yuki thought his voice sounded steady, "And just call me Yuki." Shu's face spread into a beatific grin and he snuggled in closer. Yuki's arm seemed to have a mind of its own and he found himself holding the kid next to him. At the same time he began to realize that he was in deep shit. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to complete this hit. And, even worse he had started to develop feelings for the kid. What he wanted most right now was to return to New York and just lose himself for a while. He could not even conceive putting a bullet through Shu's head. Just the thought caused him to tighten his hold. He felt one of Shu's arms wrap around his own waist and Yuki decided that he liked what he feeling, he liked it a lot.

* * *

Ryo and Dee had gone to join the line waiting in front of NG only a few minutes before the doors were due to open. The mini concert started almost immediately and they found themselves in a press of screaming fan girls and boys. I was hard to even get their bearings, let alone locate just one person. Working their way through the crowd, they were both scanning the crowd for the same blonde head. It seemed that their luck was in. Just before the show was about to start their man sauntered in and casually leaned against the back wall. He was soon joined by a second man, the two seemed comfortable together. Almost immediately the lights dimmed and a band took the stage. Ryo was able to identify the name Bad Luck being chanted along with the name Shindou and Nakano.

Eventhough Dee was unable to understand any of the words all-in-all the music was pretty good. The lead singer, Shindou Shuichi, was electrifying to watch. Dee had started to have a good time, that is, until the hussy Shindou hopped off of the stage and had started grinding into Ryo. Dee found he was mad enough to spit. He came very close to tearing the guy away and pounding his face into the ground. It was a good thing Shindou didn't stick around too long, or he would have been dead meat. Ryo had still had to hold him back and reminded him that it was only a part of the show. Shindou was not meaning anything personal he was just giving the crowd a thrill.

Dee was still staring daggers at the singer's back watching his progress…right toward their man. What Shindou did to him made what he had done to Ryo look like chump change. It certainly got the blood boiling and Dee found himself wanting to drag Ryo to some dark corner and…. He settled for a kiss and an arm around his waist.

Bad Luck's performance ended with a huge rush of the crowd right on Shindou's heels. Once order was restored a second band took the stage. Their attention was now divided between the band and Yuki. This second band wasn't nearly as interesting as the first. Not long after the second song started Dee noted the appearance of a young boy at Yuki's side. It was Ryo who made the identification of the boy as the singer Shindou Shuichi.

Once Ryo mentioned it, he could see that it was the singer. Shindou and Yuki seemed to quite chummy considering that the kid was wrapped tightly in Yuki's arms.

Shindou and Yuki were so much into each other that they could now pretty much just watch them to their hearts content otherwise they might have missed it when they slipped out a side exit. Following discretely, they made their way to the small rental car Ryo had managed to acquire and waited until an NG limo left the parking garage. They trailed the limo for several blocks until the limo pulled over outside what looked like a fashionable apartment building. They continued driving past and Ryo watched over his shoulder as Yuki and Shindou started into the building. This was not the most ideal situation, they had hoped that Yuki would take a hotel room and they planned on getting rooms in the same hotel.

"Damn Ryo, looks like he's going home with that singer." Dee swung the car around and found a space in a parking lot across from the building.

"Looks like we're going to have a long wait," Dee could tell from Ryo's voice he wasn't looking forward to spending a night in a parking lot.

"Yeah," Dee agreed, "Why don't you get us something to eat, anything but raw fish will do."

* * *

Tachi had been keeping his eye out for his uncle's employee. He had been given a description of a tall blonde-haired man, good looking but with cold eyes. He had seen him first this afternoon in the commissary having lunch with the members of Bad Luck. He was able to get a pretty good look at the guy and thought 'good looking' was an understatement. The guy also didn't look like what he would expect from a hit man. He had expected dark and scowling, this man was friendly and smiling.

The man did not turn up again until the open house concert started. During Bad Luck's performance he was able to study the guy a little more closely. He man appeared confident and cool. However, after studying him for a while Tachi started to get chills from looking at his eyes. There was definitely something weird about the man's eyes, as his uncle had said, the eyes were extremely cold, icy.

It was during Bad Luck's final number that he got his greatest shock. Shindou used sex to try to sell himself but this display amazed even him. Shindou was seducing the guy right in front of everyone, and the fool was responding.

"What are you staring at Aizawa?" Ken interrupted when he caught the direction on Tachi's gaze, "I thought you were over all that?"

"Just when I thought he couldn't sink any lower, he manages to surprise me." He wasn't really talking to Ken either.

"Come on guys!" Ma shouted and Tachi realized that the lights had come on, "We need to get up there; we're next."

ASK took the stage but Tachi still couldn't keep his eyes off of the man at the back of the room. He was a bit put off by the man's bored attitude; he had at least showed some interest in Bad Luck. Tachi tried to tell himself that it was only professional interest, and had almost managed to convince himself. But, Shindou showed up again cuddling up to the man and the next time he was able to look they were wrapped in a close embrace. Another turn around the stage and they were gone. Damn bastard didn't even stayfor rest of ASKs performance.

Unreasonable anger made finishing their set nearly impossible. His entire world turned red. For the first time in his life he actually wanted to get off of the stage. His only desire was to make another call to his uncle. When the set finally ended he was off the stage and out the door before the lights came on. He doubted that his bandmates even knew he was gone.

Tachi found himself running blindly and he ducked into the first empty studio he could find. He could care less whose space he was invading. He pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed the States.

"Uncle, its Tachi."

"How are things going Tachi-kun?"

"Listen uncle, about that guy you sent…"

"I have had a report that he is there and is doing well in infiltrating."

"Yeah, he's here, but uncle are you sure he is dependable? I mean it looks like he planning to bed Shindou, not kill him."

"It was you that asked for the hurt and betrayal."

"I know that I did uncle, I want him crying bitter tears before he dies."

"Then let him do his job Tachi."

"Just tell him not to make it sex uncle, lead him on, whatever, but no sex. You do not know how much I already appreciate what you are doing."

Tachi did not hear Ma when he came into the studio. Ma couldn't help but to follow, he had never seen Tachi looking so upset and he didn't have a clue what was wrong. Ma froze when he heard Tachi on the phone and couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded like Tachi had actually hired someone to kill Shindou.

Ma couldn't confront Tachi, not right now. He would have to wait until Tachi cooled down some. This was just wrong. No matter what Shindou had done, he did not deserve death. Ma quietly left the studio unsure of what to do. He couldn't let this go on and he sure as hell couldn't tell Shindou. Ma knew there was only one person he could tell and eventhough that manager of Bad Luck's, K, sometimes seemed like a psycho,he thought he knew what he was doing. At times he felt that K could be a very dangerous man, maybe he would be able to help without hurting Tachi.

* * *

I would like to thank all of my reviewers: SuperDrive, girlo, AthenBlade, Bloody Dead Rose, and Tochiro-Oyama. Tochiro-Oyama thanks for pointing out my mistake.

* * *

Read and Review 


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry, In the prologue I forgot the disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

**Lemon Warning This Chapter**--For all of you who have been waiting for a little action.

* * *

Night Moves 

Chapter 5

Shu led Yuki into his apartment. He wasn't really sure what to do about sleeping arrangements. If he knew that Hiro was not going to be home he would just have Yuki sleep in his room. But, Hiro had left the studio immediately after the concert and Shu didn't get the chance to ask him. The only solution was let Yuki have his bed. He thought he could stand the couch for just one night. Yuki yawned hugely the minute they were inside and Shu thought the man looked dead tired. He probably wouldn't even have the energy to unpack.

His apartment wasn't large by some people's standards but it did have the advantage of having two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Grabbing Yuki's hand he quickly gave him a tour, not that there was really much to see, but he did make sure Yuki knew where the bathrooms and kitchen were.

"Is there anything you need Yuki? Are you hungry? I'm not a very good cook but I could order something."

"No thanks, I'm not hungry right now." Yuki's hand rose slowly, touching his face. He could feel his face heat up and knew that he was blushing. "I would like a shower though, if you don't mind?" Yuki gave him a charming smile.

'God the man was gorgeous when he smiled!' Shu suspected that smiles from this man were rare and vowed that he would try to get him to smile as much as possible.

While Yuki showered Shu decided he would go ahead and change the bed and get the room ready, no sense in having Yuki think he was a slob. He was just straightening the blankets when Yuki came into the room wearing only a towel with water still dripping from his hair.

Shu again became acutely embarrassed, "Um, sorry Yuki, I…I'll leave. I was just changing the bed." Mouth suddenly gone dry he licked his lips and started out of the door. 'Shit' the guy looked even better without his clothes. Every muscle was defined without being bulky, making him appear slender rather than muscular. Shu could count every ab. He had a wild urge to run over and run his hands down that glorious body, just to see if it was real.

* * *

Yuki was instantly suspicious when he walked out and found Shu standing in the bedroom. After a moment he decided that it was just his suspicious mind, it was obvious he was only changing the bed. Nothing else had been disturbed. Feeling stupid he allowed himself to relax. 

He also did not fail to notice the pink blush that spread across Shu's cheeks or the slight flick of his tongue across dry lips as the kid gave him the once over. He quickly found he was not immune to Shu either and had to restrain himself from covering his bare chest. At the same time he wanted to tear off the towel and ravage the beautiful package standing in front of him. Instead, he decided on something in between.

"Shu wait," he finally managed to gasp out. The boy stopped and turned, if anything he had blushed an even deeper shade of pink, "Come here," for the first time in his adult life he found himself reaching out to someone else.

Shu moved towards him, it looked like he attached to strings. Yuki pulled him in close and gazed into those violet eyes and was fascinated to watch as they darkened to a deeper purple. He heard the slight catch of breath from the kid's chest. "Shu you like boys, don't you," it wasn't a question. Yuki's head was already lowering when Shu managed to choke out a small "yes". Feeling his own heart pound Yuki claimed Shu's lips as his own.

The kiss was innocent and sweet at first. He did not want to frighten Shu with the intensity of his own desire. He wanted this kid, as badly as he had ever wanted anything in his life.

* * *

Shu couldn't understand why he was feeling this way about a man who was a total stranger. It wasn't just sex, there was a powerful attraction that went beyond mere sex. He felt like he was caught in a whirlwind and he had not power to stop himself. 

When Yuki held out his hand, his feet moved forward when his head was telling him to turn and run. Before he even knew what he was doing, he was in Yuki's arms and the blonde head was lowering for a kiss. At that first brush of lips Shu felt his knees go weak and his body instinctively leaned in to Yuki's body. That body didn't feel near as hard as it looked. Just as his feet had done seconds ago, his hands now took on a mind of their own running up Yuki's chest. His thumbs ran lightly across small nipples and Yuki gasped and the kiss suddenly heated up.

* * *

Yuki had experienced many liaisons in his past, had many lovers. But, he had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Shu right now. He didn't just want to make love to him, he wanted to completely possess him. Growling his need, he scooped up the small frail looking body and carried him to the bed. He hardly seemed to weigh anything. 

Control was still important here, he still needed to be careful. There was still a hint of fear and hesitancy in the boy's eyes. Yuki laid him on the bed gently on his back before climbing over him. There was nothing innocent about the kiss that followed, gently licking the pink lips, begging to be allowed in, he sighed in pleasure as he was allowed inside to fully explore Shu's mouth. He tasted of strawberries and sweetness and Yuki wanted more. His lips slid down to Shu's neck, marking him as his own.

Pulling back a little Yuki wanted to make sure that Shu wanted this before things went any further, he was already close to the point of no return. He looked into Shu's eyes again and now found that they had darkened to indigo.

"Shu," he whispered, "Are you sure you want this? We can still stop."

"I…" The sudden ringing of a phone interrupted any answer he might have made.

"Shit…Damn!" Yuki cursed in English, "That's my cell phone. It's my boss. Shu, I have to take this call. It was scheduled. I forgot."

"Your boss?" It was obvious that Shu was having trouble collecting his thoughts.

"Wait here, I'll take the call in the living room."

Yuki started to get out of the bed, but at the same time the doorbell rang.

"Shu, you're going to have to get the door, I can't." Yuki was still only wearing a towel.

* * *

Shu was still having trouble getting himself together and could not seem to be able to speak. He could care less the phone, the door, or anything else for that matter. All he wanted was to be on the bed with Yuki on him. 

"Go!" Yuki urged shooing him out of the room and grabbing his phone at the same time.

Shu managed to make it to his feet, stumbling slightly as he walked to the door. Just as he was leaving he heard Yuki's "I'm here Boss." before the door was closed behind him.

He was still in a daze when he pulled the door open. He could only blink at Hiro standing in the doorway.

"Hey Shu! I just…," Hiro gave him one of his sideways looks with his head cocked,"Are you all right? You look…funny?"

"I'm just tired Hiro. Why didn't you use your key?"

"Forgot it the other morning."

Hiro was still looking at him oddly. Without warning Hiro ran a thumb across his lips. "Shu, what have you been doing!" He laughingly teased, "As if I didn't know."

"Nothing happened Hiro." Shu gave a resigned sigh.

"No, but it would have if I hadn't interrupted."

Shu couldn't figure out why Hiro was grinning like an idiot when was feeling like he has somehow betrayed him. "It wasn't you Hiro, Yuki's phone and rang. He said he had to take the call, he said it was his boss."

"Well, I did come to check on you guys since you said earlier that you thought he was kinda scary."

"He's still scary Hiro. Just in a different way."

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse!"

"Okay, it that is what you want, and I can see that you do want it, I'll just grab some of my things and go. That is the other reason I came by, I'm going to stay at Suguru's place tonight since we need to work on some of the arrangement to that new song. Your vocals were great but Suguru and I weren't quite in sync."

"Hiro you don't have to go."

"Yes I do and you know it too. We'll get things settled when we get back from the States."

It only took Hiro about fifteen minutes to pack a bag and get a few personal things gathered. Shu even helped him to carry everything out to Suguru's waiting car.

"Good luck," Hiro whispered and leaned down to place a small kiss on his forehead, "remember, I'm always just a phone call away." As Hiro drove off, Shu felt like a big part of his life had just ended.

Hetrudged back into his apartment and after a few moments debate knocked softly on the bedroom door. The apartment was completely quiet and no one answered his knock. Opening the door just a crack, he peeked in. Yuki was curled up on the bed, sound asleep, with the phone still in his hand. Walking quietly to the bed, Shu took the phone out of his hand and pulled the blanket to cover him. Smiling to himself, he couldn't resist leaning down to plant a small kiss on those slightly parted lips. "Goodnight Yuki," he whispered before quietly pulling the door closed again.

* * *

Yuki had not really been asleep when Shu came into the room. He needed time to think. His boss had been most displeased with his actions while in Japan, to say the least. The man had ordered that the hit be made earlier than planned. Yuki had been able to calm him down and was able to assure him that everything was still going according to plan. His boss had still moved the hit up to within a week of his arrival in New York. But, the strangest of the new instructions was that his boss had specifically ordered him not to have sex with the mark. He could taunt, tease, and even play around all he wanted but nothing more. 

Yuki knew that he was going to have to make a decision and he had to do it quickly. If he did not go through with the hit, someone else would be sent to do it and his own life would also be forfeit. He had briefly had the thought of just grabbing Shu and running, but he did not think the kid would cooperate. And, a life on the run would be no kind of life. He had also considered just telling Shu the truth and then asking K for help. The sad truth was he didn't trust K. K seemed like he knew what he was doing but couldn't possibly imagine what he would be facing.

Yuki fell asleep knowing that he was about to start playing a very dangerous game. There was no way he was going to be able to complete this assignment. He was going to have to pretend that getting ready to do his job, while in secret he was actually going to try to protect Shu.

* * *

It had taken most of the evening but Ma had finally managed to locate K. Oddly he was just sitting in his car outside of Shindou's apartment. The truth was that K found him. 

"What are you doing here Ma? Your group has been warned to stay from Shindou and the rest of Bad Luck."

For once K was not holding a gun on him, that was a good sign, but Ma could see that he was holding it in his lap. K's eyes also kept nervously glancing up towards Shindou's apartment building. "I was actually looking for you K. Can I get in, it's cold out here and we need to talk." K motioned with the gun for him to get inside the car.

K immediately started to tear into him. "If you're here to tattle some stupid little incident, forget it. I don't have the time."

"I'm not tattling…, well, I guess that I am but not about whom you think. But before I start my story there is something I think you should know. I've been wandering around for a while and I have been past this building twice now. The first time I saw them, I didn't thing anything about it, but I've seen them twice now."

"Get to the point Ma, or get out." The patience seemed a little thin tonight, even for K.

"There are two other men watching this building. They are both western, probably American. One has black hair, the other reddish-brown. They are sitting in car in the parking lot just up the street."

Ma watched K's eyes immediately go to the parking lot. "I don't really think they're the problem. And, because you are sitting here in a car in freezing temperatures watching Shindou's apartment, I can see that you already know there is a problem." The last part was only a sputter as K put the gun to his head.

"I told you to get to the point."

"Please put the gun down, I am trying to get there. This is just difficult for me."

"Well try." K growled, but he did lower the gun.

"Okay, here goes. Tachi has an uncle who lives in the United States he is supposedly some kind of organized crime boss."

"I know that already."

The gun was rising again and Ma threw his hand up. "I bet you didn't know that when Tachi got angry the other day he called his uncle. He wants Shindou eliminated. His uncle has sent some sort of assassin over here to get rid of Shindou. I overheard Tachi talking to his uncle on the phone. Tachi was very angry and he was very serious about having Shindou killed. I also have reason to believe that the blond-haired guy that was sitting at the lunch table with you this afternoon is the assassin. Tachi was staring at him the entire time."

"So, why tell me? With Shindou gone ASK would be back at the top of NG."

"K I don't know if you know it or not but Tachi and I are a couple now. I don't know just how much Tachi feels for me, but I do love him. Tachi thinks that this will solve all of his problems right now. It is really only going to hurt him in the long run. He would be a murderer who is living a lie."

"Are you claiming you are doing this help Aizawa?"

"For him only. I want you to understand that, I could care less about Shindou. I also intend on helping. On my own, I am going to work on Tachi to try to get him to call off the hit on his own." Ma opened the car door and started to get out, but K stopped him.

"Thanks Ma, you be careful yourself."

* * *

K was deeply disturbed by what he had learned from Ma. He knew that Yuki had at one time been an assassin. The fact that he was formerly was an assassin did not really mean anything. People could get out, after all he had. 

There were only a few people who knew his true past. It was rumored that he was ex-CIA and he encouraged these rumors. Some even thought that he must have been special services, another rumor which he did not deny. He had spent a tour of duty with the special services, but that was not his true past.

When he was young, K had worked for an organization that was a rival to the one Yuki worked for. He had been looking for a way out. When the boss of his organization was assassinated himself, K had grabbed the opportunity with both hands and had managed to get himself out. He had been there the day his boss was killed and he had seen the assassin. The man had been young, blonde, and had icy amber colored eyes. It was the same man that was now claiming to be Eiri Yuki, journalist.

In all the confusion following the death of his boss, he was able to get to the authorities. He turned State's evidence which caused the rest of the organization to crumble. As a reward he was sent into the special services, retrained, and given a new identity. He had to serve a three year term, working in the most dangerous parts of the world.

After his term, he was allowed to go his own way, but he had to remain in constant contact with his old commander, and was always on call. He had managed to take his life back. He had made it out.

Before talking with Ma, he had been very confused by Yuki's presence. Rumors got around and he knew that the man a master of 'shadow' hits. He was never seen and hits were untraceable. This sort of public display just wasn't his style. K thought he did understand now, this was more about humiliation and betrayal than the actual death.

It was obvious that hit was not to take place right away or Shindou would already be dead. It was just a guess, but he thought the hit probably wouldn't take place until they go to New York, where Yuki would be on his home turf. He still had a little time.

In the meantime, he needed to find out just who the men watching the apartment were. He needed to know exactly what their place was in this whole mess. He decided that the direct approach probably wasn't a good idea. The other men could be organization guys set to keep an eye on Yuki.

Getting out of the car, he took a casual stroll around the block, marking the car. At the end of the parking lot he quickly dodged to the back of a van. Moving quickly from car to car, he kept down so that he was not seen.

* * *

Dee was getting pretty irritated with the entire situation. He and Ryo were jammed into a tiny car, it was colder than Hell, and even worse, nothing was happening. It was currently Dee's shift to keep watch and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The only saving point to the whole situation was that the car was so small and it was so cold that Ryo needed to snuggle next to him in order to sleep. Currently it seemed to be about fifty below zero in the car and he decided to risk starting the engine just to get a little warmth. Just his luck though, once the car started to get warm, he started to get really sleepy again. 

"Shit!" he muttered to himself, "I need to get out and stretch my legs."

He pushed Ryo gently back into his own seat and quietly got out of the car. After walking around the car several times he leaned against the door and lit a cigarette. In his mind he was beginning to agree with Ryo, there really wasn't anything to this guy. Sighing he flicked his cigarette butt into the parking lot, and took one last walk around the car. As soon as he put his hand on the door handle, he felt the cold metal of a gun placed to the back of his head.

* * *

K had taken a position just a few cars back to examine the situation for a few minutes. One of the car's occupants was asleep with his head on the other man's shoulder. He did not think that these guys looked like organized crime, no suits. What they looked like were cops on a stake out, American cops. If this is what they were, then what the hell were they doing here? They were probably tailing Yuki. If that was the case at some point in time Yuki had gotten careless or, and this was more likely, these guys had just gotten lucky. 

K remained still and watched as the darker-haired man got out of the car to stretch. Taking the opportunity he was just given, K carefully made his way up to the car and behind the man.

* * *

Dee shivered at the cold and feel of the gun to the back of his head. He froze. 

"Tell me who you are and I might let you live." A gruff voice whispered into his ear. Dee had only a second to register that the voice was male and America when he felt the gun thump into the back of his head again.

"Get talking!"

"Will you put the gun down?"

"No, I don't think so, not just yet anyways."

Dee started to reach for his ID and authorization papers but froze again when he heard the gun cock.

"Hold it right there, I don't want you to move anything but your mouth."

"We're cops mister. Temporary assignment. Suspect watch."

"Give me your papers, and if your hand moves towards your gun, you're dead."

Dee very slowly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the packet he was given by the Japanese chief earlier that day. He raised it over his shoulder hoping the guy would take the bait. If he grabbed the packet Dee might be able to get to his own gun.

"No way buddy. I'm not that stupid," the man chuckled, "nice try though. Take the papers out, one at a time, ID first."

Dee showed his ID first and then his authorization papers. The gun remained pointed at the back of his head.

"Okay Detective Laytner you showed me yours, now I will show you mine. Keep you hands up and turn around, slowly.

Dee turned to find that the gun was now pointed directly between his eyes. To his relief the barrel was slowly pulled back. What he was presented with was a badge he had only seen pictured in books. He realized that he was lucky to be still standing and in one piece.

"Now Detective Laytner I need for you to tell me exactly what you are doing in Japan and why you are staking out my client's apartment?"

Dee glanced towards the car, "Can I wake my partner up, part of the story is his to tell?" The blonde American walked over to the car. Even without the badge He could tell this was a very dangerous man just by the way he moved.

"Ryo," Dee reached into the car and shook his partner's shoulder until he blinked sleepy eyes, "Ryo, wake up. We have a… situation." Ryo's eyes opened slowly but Dee knew that he was fully awake.

"It's really all right Ryo, but you do need to get out of the car. No matter what you do, do not reach for your gun."

Ryo got out of the car slowly. He had been ready to pull his weapon, but the tone of Dee's voice told him this would be a very bad mistake. As soon as he was out of the car he found himself face to face with a very striking American male.

"Name and papers please." the man held out his hand. Ryo knew this was not a request. He moved slowly in taking the papers out of his pocket and handed them to the man. "I'm Detective McClean, New York PD."

"Randy and Dee?"

"Ryo and Dee, I prefer Ryo, and you are?" The man pulled out his ID and flashed it in his face.

"Just call me K," the blonde grinned, "Everyone else does."

Ryo swallowed a gulp at seeing the special services ID. "Shit Dee what the hell did you get us into?"

The American threw an arm over both his and Dee's shoulders. "If you want to come with me I'll tell you, some of it anyways. And, I think I may need some help, and just so you know right from the start, that guy, Eiri Yuki," K pointed back to the apartment, "he's better than me."

* * *

Ryo and Dee remained in the all night café after K had left. 

"So, I was right," Dee insisted with one of his cockiest grins. "That guy is most likely our assassin."

"At least we know he is an assassin." Ryo grudgingly admitted.

"And, here we sit while he gets settled in with is mark."

"Dee, when someone from Shadow Ops tells you to sit and wait, you wait."

"I can't believe we've gotten ourselves involved with Shadow Ops. And, even worse this K says that Yuki is better than him."

* * *

After speaking with K, Ma made his way over to Tachi's apartment. He didn't think just confronting him would be a very good idea, besides Tachi would just deny everything and throw him out to boot. He thought he could ease into it gently, probably while in bed.

* * *

Shu just could not get comfortable on the couch. He had been tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. It could have been the unfamiliar lumps on the couch or it could have been unfulfilled desire. By midnight Shu had given up. He never had liked being alone and tonight is particular he was getting the willys. All of his friends had laughed when claimed the apartment was haunted, it was always just him seeing and hearing things. He was now cringing from every shadow and jumping at every noise. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep. 

Grabbing his blanket and pillow, Shu crept back into the safe haven of his bedroom. What he really wanted was to climb into his own bed, with Yuki. But, he also didn't want Yuki to think…well, he didn't want him to think anything. He made himself a bed on the floor, close enough to the bed so that he could hear Yuki's soft breathing. He was asleep in minutes.

* * *

Yuki awoke and as usual, in an instant. He was disoriented and for the life of him could not remember where he was. He instinctively reached for guns that were not there. After a few moments his mind cleared and the events of last night came crashing back into his memory. 

He had thought that a good night's sleep might change his feelings towards the boy he was contracted to kill. Maybe he could tell himself that it was only lust. A picture of the angelic face flashed into his mind causing his heart to clench. The feelings were quite real. "Shit, what am I going to do?" He knew he would not be able to sleep any more tonight. Glancing at the red LCD alarm clock, Yuki saw that it was still only two in the morning.

Still cursing his own stupidity, Yuki started to get out of the bed. Maybe a shower would relax him enough so that he could get back to sleep. Trying to be quiet so that he did not wake Shu in the next room, Yuki stepped out of the bed. Instead of the cold wooden floor, like he expected, his foot came down on warm flesh.

"What the…" Yuki muttered and touched on the bedside lamp. To his amazement, Shu lay sprawled on the floor next to the bed. At first he thought that some other assassin must have gotten to him. No living human could possibly be comfortable lying down in that position and on a hard wood floor.

Afraid to move, Yuki watched for the slow rise and fall of chest that would indicate breathing. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he finally saw a slow intake of breath. But, what was the kid doing in here on the floor?

Yuki got out of bed, carefully stepping over Shu. He noted that the kid hardly weighed anything as he tenderly picked him up and laid him in his own bed. Leaning over he kissed Shu's forehead and to his amazement the kid tried to snuggle closer. 'Even in his sleep he's attracted.'

He sat for several minutes staring at the sleeping form trying to contain the urge to reach out and touch that soft pink, those pouty lips. 'No, not a good idea." Yuki told himself and quickly got off of the bed and made his way to the bathroom, locking himself in. He splashed cold water on his face to regain his senses. He even ended up in a cold shower but nothing was helping. Yuki was never one to make sudden decisions but he did now. "Dammit, I don't care. I'm going to take what I want for once. I may not be able to keep him but for now he is going to be mine."

Removing the towel that had somehow managed to stay around his waist as he slept and letting it slip to the floor, Yuki firmed his resolve and made his was back into the bedroom. He had intended on putting on a pair of boxers but decided that would just be a waste of time.

Shu had not moved from where Yuki had left him. He smiled and wondered how someone who seemed to in constant motion while he was awake could possibly be so motionless while he slept.

He went around and climbed in on the other side of the bed pulling the blankets up to his chest. Before starting anything he wanted to take a good long look of only person to ever capture his heart. Pink strands of hair were tumbled over Shu's eyes and with a fingertip Yuki brushed the hair away and let his finger delicately trace each feature of the adorable face. His finger ended up at the neck of Shu's shirt. The kid was wearing the same clothes he had on the night before. He chuckled realizing that he had closed Shu out of his room before he could even get a change of clothes.

The slight noise of his chuckle caused Shu to stir and the kid once again turned towards him.

Yuki leaned over to give the lightest of kisses and slid his hand under the back of Shu's shirt, gently caressing the soft skin. Shu's mouth opened as he released a soft sigh and Yuki took the advantage to slip a little of his tongue into Shu's mouth lightly teasing to wake the boy up. Shu responded slowly causing Yuki to pull back just to watch as Shu's eyes opened.

"Yuki, what? How did I get here?"

"Why were you sleeping on the floor?"

Shu's blush was scarlet and went clear down to his shirt, "I…got scared. I don't like to be alone. I just wanted to hear you breathing so I could sleep. I'm sorry. Are you mad at me?"

"The only thing I'm mad about is that you did not go ahead and get into the bed. With me."

This time there was hesitancy when he began kissing Shu. Even in the middle of the night his mouth tasted like sweet heaven. When Shu's tongue entered his mouth and began to dance with his own, Yuki got chills down his spine. Blood pumped straight down and his head got light, he was fully hard in seconds. Yuki pressed into Shu letting him know just what he was doing to him.

Shu's breath had become ragged, hitching in his chest. He let his hand roam down to gently caress one of Shu's small nipples. Moaning softly into his mouth, Shu threw a leg over hips pulling him closer, increasing the pressure and grinding against him. "Yuki" came out as breathy pant as soon as he raised his lips.

"You lips taste so good Shu, does the rest of you taste that good?" Yuki traced his tongue from Shu's lips down to his neck. He could tell that his small bites were driving Shu crazy. Moving his hand down from the now erect nipple, he began trying to push the loose short off of the boy's hips. As his hand slid around to the back, he could not resist sliding his hand into the shorts to finally feel that firm ass that he had wanted since the first time he had seen Shu wiggling it up on that stage. He nearly forgot the shorts as he caressed and squeezed "God I want you." He whispered into Shu's ear.

Shu seemed beyond words and was wildly thrusting into his body. Yuki didn't need a response he could tell by the boy's actions just how badly he was wanted in return. The kid was almost too eager, too willing. If he let this continue the way it was going, it would all be over way too quickly. He had wanted to take his time and make Shu his fully. If he did not take control and quickly thing were going to get out of hand.

Yuki firmly pushed Shu down onto his bad and straddled him. Those amazing violet eyes were tightly closed so he didn't notice that Yuki was already nude. Shu was panting and squirming under him, trying to keep up the friction. "Easy Shu, I'm here." Yuki leaned down to whisper into his ear, trying to slow the boy down a little. The words of reassurance didn't seem to do anything but excite the boy more. The pace and the pressure of the grinding increased. Yuki knew that he was going to have to give some relief before Shu would come back to his senses.

Yuki raised up long enough to pull Shu's shorts the rest of the way down and off his feet. He stopped to look at the boy under him, and decided that everything about the boy was perfectly formed. Sliding down until his weight was over Shu's legs: he fell forward grasping Shu's length in his hand. Darting out his tongue he tasted the precum glistening at the tip and let his tongue slide along the tiny crack. Yuki knew that once he took Shu into his mouth the boy was going to cum quickly and he really didn't care. The kid could get off all he needed, just as long he was allowed this one glorious moment.

Lowering his head, Yuki to the entirety of Shu into his mouth, he really did taste good all over. Shu was completely out of control now and all Yuki could do was try to hold his hips and match his thrusts. He was right, within minutes he felt Shu's body stiffen and hot semen filled his mouth. He swirled it around his tongue before swallowing, enjoying the taste.

When Shu's breath finally evened out and the violet eyes opened, Yuki once again stretched out on top of the small body.

"Better?"

Shu nodded slowly, "I'm sorry Yuki. I…I wanted you so bad. I don't think I've ever wanted anyone so much. And, I don't think I've ever been attracted to anyone so much. I think I'm falling in love with you. I never believed in love a first sight before…"

Yuki silenced the flow of words with a hand over his mouth. When Shu seemed to have calmed a little he removed his hand.

But, Shu wasn't quite finished yet and tears began to fill those glorious eyes, "I messed up didn't I?"

"No, you didn't mess up. We'll just go a little slower next time." Yuki grabbed Shu's chin to make sure he had the boy's complete attention. "If it is any consolation Shu-chan, I know that I am in love with you."

The kiss that followed was slow, gentle, and passionate. Shu was able to show him that he did have some self-control. Shu sat up and wrapped his arms around Yuki's waist, now it was his turn to assault Yuki's neck, kissing and biting. Putting his head back, Yuki allowed a satisfied moan escape his lips. He would allow Shu to have his way, for a while. The small nip on the shell of his ear caused him to thrust uncontrollably now. The moan that escaped his lips surprised even him. Shu took advantage of the new found weakness and ran his tongue around the shell of his ear. Yuki didn't even try to silence the moan that followed and he heard Shu's musical laugh in his ear. Shu's mouth began moving down, tracing a trail of kisses down his neck and collarbone.

Yuki seemed to have lost complete control of his hands. He eagerly ran his hands down Shu's small back and once again found that delightful ass. He was the perfect size and fit exactly in his hands. His fingers began tracing the down the crack, stopping to lightly tickle the opening. He heard Shu's breath catch again and it was his turn to laugh now.

Shu's hand had found his own hardness and Yuki began rocking into his delicate hand.

"Seme or Uke Shu?" He whispered.

"Uke, always. I like both pleasure…and pain."

"Lube?" Yuki gasped out as Shu increased the pace and pressure, "Don't want to hurt you, too much?"

Shu shivered before reaching out for the night stand drawer. Yuki took the lube from Shu's shaking hand, noting that it was strawberry flavored before spreading it on his fingers. Shu took the tube from him and spread a generous amount on his own hands before once again grasping Yuki's cock. The stroking started again, the slickness and skill of Shu's hands making his pant and thrust.

Yuki found Shu's opening again and began spreading the lube, gently thrusting the tip of his finger in and out before plunging it in fully. Shu gasped and immediately tightened. Yuki held him tightly until Shu relaxed in his arms. The pain passed quickly and Shu began rocking against his hand.

"You're so small, Shu. So tight." Yuki began moving his finger in a circle, trying to loosen the tiny passage. She had begun to whimper again and the grip on his member was loosening. Shu removed his hand completely and began to stroke himself.

"No," Yuki pulled his hand away, "Not yet." With those words he inserted a second finger. Working the passage carefully he finally felt some loosening. Shu was still rocking gently and he knew what the boy was wanting. Working his fingers gently he found the hardened nub of Shu's prostate and gave it a light brush. Shu fell completely back onto the bed and arched his back shuddering, "Please Yuki, oh God please."

"Tell me what you want Shu." Yuki asked as he inserted a third finger. There was no tensing at all this time and Yuki knew he was almost ready. Just a little more stretching and shouldn't hurt him too badly.

"Tell me Shu." Yuki pulled out his fingers and slid Shu's legs over his shoulders, pulling the small body towards him.

"I won't do it unless you tell me."

"Please, Yuki," Shu begged, "I want you in me, make love to me Yuki."

Yuki grabbed his own cock to position himself and pressed against Shu's opening.

"Fast or slow?"

"Fast Yuki, please."

In a single thrust he pushed past the wall of tight muscle and into the soft heat. After burying himself, he stopped to let Shu adjust. The initial cry of pain was short, but his body had really tightened. It would be painful for him to even try to move until Shu loosened again. To help him relax Yuki took Shu into his hand and began a gentle massage. Shu was soon thrusting into his hand and rocking gently against him.

"Ready now?"

"Yes, oh God yes Yuki. Now."

Yuki began slowly getting the feel of every part of the amazingly tight body under him. He wanted to remember every thrust, every expression on Shu's face, every sound that came out of the boy's lips.

Shu suddenly pulled himself up into Yuki's lap, letting his legs slip off of his shoulders and began grinding himself into Yuki's stomach. The sudden change of position caused Yuki gasp and thrust harder. One hand held Shu's hips and the other found Shu's erection to stroke in time with his own movements.

The slow pace was driving him crazy. He wanted to make it last, but just wasn't going to be able to, he wanted this too badly. Shu quickened the pace on his own and Yuki gladly followed. Every area that Shu's mouth could reach was being covered with kisses and bites.

Yuki constantly aimed for Shu's sweet spot and could practically feel the electricity that traveled through the small body every time he hit it. This time it was him that increased the pace, pulling Shu close enough to get his mouth on Shu's neck. It was his turn to bite now and he sucked until he knew he had left a bruise.

Shu's moans and cries were increasing and getting louder. Yuki gently laid him back on the bed, only pulling one leg up this time. Shu's back arched completely off the bed every time he hit the prostate and he was aiming every time, harder and faster. Shu's hands were gripped tightly onto the sheets and he was shuddering at every thrust. Yuki knew that he was close and he wasn't far behind.

"Yuki," Shu screamed, "Now, ahhh!" Shu's cum spread over his hand and his body tightened around Yuki's length throwing him into orgasm too in less than a stroke. His own seed filled Shu's small body, the tightness milking him completely.

Yuki fell panting, pulling Shu into his arms allowing total bliss to wash over him. He wanted to hold Shu like this forever and never have to pull out. But, he could fell Shu's muscles going slack and knew that he was falling asleep in his arms. Murmuring words of love and reassurance into Shu's ear he gently pulled out.

Before Shu actually fell asleep Yuki heard the small whisper, "I love you Yuki, don't ever leave me," before the violet eyes closed completely and Shu was asleep in his arms. He carefully pulled his love closer to his own body and whispered, "I'll always love you, but I can't promise that I'll never leave you."

* * *

I would like to thank all of my reviewers: **xxSilverLemonFlyxx, KumaChan, Bloody Dead Rose, Athen Blade, and girlo.**

Read and Review


	7. Chapter 6

Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

* * *

Everything Changes 

Chapter 6

When Shu awoke it was much later than usual for him. It didn't matter nothing could worry him today not even K and his guns. He felt safe and secure wrapped in warm arms and there was a leg thrown over his, lightly pinning him to the bed. Yuki's breath was rustling the hair on the back of his neck and he could feel the light brush of the other man's chest with each intake of air.

He turned slowly to face the blonde lying next to him and gently brushed the hair out of his eyes. As soon as he lowered his hand Yuki's eyes opened and those odd amber eyes were staring into his. With a smile he let Yuki know that everything was still okay.

"Morning Yuki," Shu sighed resting his head on the man's chest, "I like waking up in your arms, I feel safe here."

Yuki didn't say anything he only tightened his arms drawing Shu in closer. He was able to feel the hitch in Yuki's chest and the shuddering breath told him that his new lover was crying. He tried to pull away which caused the arms to tighten even more.

"Yuki what's wrong?" He was starting to get scared. Yuki's entire body was now shuddering and he could hear the muffled sobs.

"Are you sorry?" Shu blurted out, not knowing what else to say, "Because I'm not, nothing has changed, except that I love you more."

Yuki finally took a deep breath to get his emotions back under some control. After a few minutes the he pulled back enough to meet Shu's eyes, the tearsstill glistened on his.

"No Shu, I'm not sorry, never that. I just never thought this would happen to me. I'm really pretty much of an asshole. I don't let people get close to me, ever. Then I see you, and I don't know if you know it or not but I was watching you yesterday, practicing. The dance you were doing drove me nuts. I didn't even know who you were and I wanted you then. Then you came up and our eyes met. Shu, I felt a shock all the way to my toes."

Hereached up to wipe the remaining tears fromgolden lashes, "I felt it too."

"I think I fell in love with you right then and there." Yuki couldn't hold in his laugh, "I felt really stupid too with us both being guys. If it seemed that I was being mean, it was only because I was covering. I didn't even know if you were interested in men." Yuki relaxed and brought an arm up to rest his head on, "After what you did at that concert I decided that I did not care what your preferences were, I was going to try to seduce you."

Yuki gave him one of the sweetest smiles he had ever seen and ran a finger down his nose, "But, you came to me. You told me you loved me. I love you so much, it hurts. So, don't worry, the crying is a good thing."

"Then don't cry anymore, please. Just kiss me instead, hold me and don't ever let go."

Yuki was leaning over to do just as he requested and once again they were interrupted by the doorbell, ringing constantly. Yuki went ahead and stole a small kiss before sighing and rolling over, "We're cursed."

Shu giggled, "It's probably just K. I'm late. I was supposed to be at the studio half and hour ago. I'm surprised that he doesn't just break the door down and drag me out by the hair waving his guns. Maybe he's being nice today because you're here and doesn't want it to end up in print." Shu sat up on the edge of the bed, "You go ahead and stay in bed I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Shu quickly pulled on boxers, loose shorts, and hoodie sweatshirt. He stuck a hat on his head and tucked all the recognizable pink hair under the brim, "Love you Yuki, I'll be back soon," he called before running to open the door.

Yuki closed his eyes truly intending on getting a little more sleep. They flew open again almost immediately when he heard a loud squeal "Shu-chan!" followed by the sound of bodies hitting the floor. He was out of the bed and opening the door before he remembered he was naked and unarmed. Peeking out the door he saw a breathless Shu sitting on the floor with a man sitting on top of him. The other man looked like he could be Shu's brother and he appeared to be threatening Shu with a fuzzy pink bunny. He didn't see any real danger there so he went back to bed with a smile on his face.

"Shu, you would leave without saying goodbye to Kumagarou?"

"Ryuichi, get up. I can't breathe!"

"Na no da Shu, not until you tell Kuma you're sorry."

In self defense he quickly plucked the bunny out of Ryu's hands, "Kuma-chan I am very sorry I didn't call you earlier." He handed the rabbit back, "Now get off me!"

Ryuichi pouted but did finally get up and sat next to him with his lower lip stuck out.

"I was going to call you before I left, I swear. I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

Looking serious for once, the older singer put the bunny aside. Shu knew just how hard being serious was for Ryuichi.

"I heard about your break-up with Hiro. I was really hoping you would call me. But, I can see by this," Ryu's finger ran lightly over the bruise on his neck, "that I'm too late."

Shu's hand instinctively rose up to cover the hickey, "I forgot about that."

"Never mind, it doesn't matter, well maybe it does to me." Ryu looked quickly away but when he turned back that oh so serious look was gone, "Tell me, just who is that man hiding in your bedroom? I saw him at the door a few minutes ago, he's gorgeous. And, is it serious?"

"His name is Yuki Eiri and he's a journalist for the States. Yes, he's gorgeous. It is early yet, but yes it's serious. At least I am very serious."

"You don't think he's serious too?" Ryu was frowning now and it just didn't look right on that usually happy face.

"Yes, I think he is. If anything he's worse that I am. But, we only met yesterday and the feelings were so intense, so fast, for both of us. It's kind of scary."

"It happens that way sometimes Shu. It doesn't mean its bad or anything. If you think that he is the one to make you happy, then I wish you luck." Ryu's little boy grin suddenly reappeared, "If it doesn't work out promise me that you will give me a call."

"All right, I promise. But, I really do hope this works out because I am already in love with him."

Ryu truly looked sad when he got to his feet but the smile was back quickly when he reached to helphim off the floor.

In typical Ryuichi fashion, he had not bothered to close the door after he came bursting in. Shu pouncing was one of his favorite past times and he never missed a chance. Of course, since the door was already open, K came bursting in.

He turned to see K looming over him, "I was on my way out…" K interrupted any excuses by grabbing his chin and carefully examining the mark on his neck. The man's face turned nearly purple with anger, Shu had never seen him look so angry.

"Get to the studio Shindou, now. Ryu you go with him, and don't forget Kumagarou. I need to speak with your guest."

Shu and Ryu both hurried out of the apartment, Ryu only stopping to pick up Kuma-chan.

"Kuma-chan has never seen him that pissed before."

* * *

K took a seat on Shindou's sofa. He needed to get himself under control; he could not afford any mistakes now. It was obvious that Yuki had slept with his singer, the hickey was proof enough. K had learned enough from asking Ma to repeat the phone call word for word that Yuki had been directly ordered not to have not to have sex with the boy. 

Now, he couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. The only person that was going to have the answers was laying in the bedroom only a few steps away. Moving quietly, K pulled his gun, ready to shoot at any wrong move. Quickly opening the door he slipped into the bedroom.

Yuki had heard Shu and the other man, Ryu'?' leave the apartment. But, he could hear soft movement and knew someone was still here. Heguesses it had to be K. He continued to lie on the bed pretending to be asleep until he heard the door open and close again. At the first sound of a footstep in the room he spoke.

"I would ask you not to point that gun at me K, but I for some reason I don't think you would listen." Yuki kept his voice calm and level, "Have a seat, we need to talk."

"TALK! I should be shooting you through the head. I know everything Mr. Yuki or Mr. Thomas or whatever you are calling yourself today. What I don't know is why you slept with him? I even know that you were directly ordered not to have sex with him. Just answer that one question then I'll kill you."

"That doesn't really give me any incentive to answer you know. But, I'm going to tell you anyway then you can decide whether or not to shoot me. I slept with him because I'm in love with him." Yuki heard K's breath release in the darkness.

K couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Turn on the light Yuki, I want to see your eyes when you tell me this." When the light came on K saw that Yuki was lying on the bed hugging a pillow to his chest with tears in his eyes. K was shocked.

"Come on K, kill me. Believe it or not, I want you to. I don't ever want Shu to find out what I am, or what I had planned to do to him."

K took a step forward and placed the barrel of the gun to Yuki's head and watched the shiver pass through the man's body. When he cocked the gun, Yuki's entire body began to tremble.

"K" Yuki managed through chattering teeth, "Sometime, in the future, let Shu know that I really did love him…Now please just get it over with."

K's finger slowly depressed the trigger and he could feel sweat begin to trickle down his forehead. His mind was screaming that this wasn't right.

"Shit!" He threw the gun down in disgust, "Christ, you really mean it." The thought would leave his head as he watched Yuki continue to shiver on the bed. It was several minutes beforethe manwas able to speak again.

"Why?" Was all he could manage to say.

"Because Mr. Yuki, I am going to assume that Shindou has fallen for you also. I also refuse to leave a large blood stain in his bed. There is also the fact that Shindou is a very determined individual, even though he might not seem like it. If you were to just disappear he would look for you and ask questions that I might not want to answer."

"I guess that wasn't such a good idea. It was a way out for me, but not for Shu. My life was forfeit from the moment I saw him. I'm not stupid; I knew I couldn't go through with it. I just didn't know what else to do."

"Horse shit, you were copping out!"

"Maybe I was. I'm a dead may no matter what. The problem is that this hit is a personal matter. Even if I'm dead there will be others coming after him. He still wouldn't be safe."

"I'm working on making Shindou safe, through the source. For you, I might have another way, if you are willing to try. All I need is some time."

"Time is something I don't have a lot of; they are pressuring me to hurry the hit. They want it done within a week of our arrival in New York. Where is the chance for me?"

"Do you remember when I told you that I had seen you before? That was true, I wasn't bluffing. On one of your very first hits you were assigned a rival crime boss. You were still pretty young. After you had made your shot, which was pretty amazing by the way, there was another man standing there watching you. You didn't kill him, you just walked away."

K watched the look of wonder spread across Yuki's face.

"Yeah, that was me. You let me live when you could have easily killed me too. I wasn't even armed. The point here is, I turned State's evidence in the confusion that followed and brought down the rest of the organization. I won't go into any details now, but I was not put into a witness protection program, it was something different. I was able to get out. I can help you too."

"I don't give a shit about me, what do I need to do about Shu?"

"Very simple Mr. Yuki, you're good, I've seen it; you just need to rethink your position. Use your skills to protect him. If you can keep Shindou alive, I'll help you get out."

"Thank you K."

"Don't thank me yet, you'll likely be cussing me later. Now get up and get dressed."

Yuki got up with the sheet pulled tightly around his waist. Grabbing whatever clothes were lying on the top of his suitcase he went into the bathroom. Once inside he had to sit down for a few minutes. He was still weak in the knees. His strength gradually returned and managed another quick shower before pulling his clothes on. Feeling slightly better he was ready to face K again.

Yuki found K going through his luggage when he reentered the bedroom.

"You don't even have any weapons with you?"

"Wouldn't have needed any until I got back."

"I do plan on helping you Mr. Yuki…"

"Just Yuki please, or even Eiri. Eiri is really my name you know."

"Eiri what?"

"That would be what Eiri. I am Japanese, I was born here. My real name is Uesugi Eiri."

"No! Shit! I don't believe it."

"You know the name?"

"I don't know why I didn't see it. Your brother-in-law is my boss. You're Mika's brother, right?" You disappeared in and were presumed dead in New York."

"I do have an older sister named Mika. But, I don't want to talk about what happened to me, at least not now. K, please don't tell them that you've seen me."

"Fine, I'll let it go, for now. Also, there is one more thing you need to know. You were followed here by two NYPD detectives. One of which is very intuitive, he followed you all the way here on a hunch. These men are willing to help too, to a point. They will be on the plane ride back with us. I will introduce you then. The only condition is that when this is all over, they will arrest you. You will be charged with several murders."

"So, I'm fucked no matter what I do. Great K, give me some hope and then take it away."

"You're just going to have to trust me, everything should be okay. Now, go and get your things packed. It would be nice if you had lunch ready when Shindou gets back. I know he ran out without any breakfast this morning."

"You really do care, don't you?"

"Yeah, I really do care."

* * *

Ma thought he had actually gotten somewhere with Tachi. He did not come right out and say what he knew, he only mad vague hints and comments. He believed that he had gotten Tachi thinking differently about Shindou by the end of the night. Tachi was at least agreeing that Shindou was a true idiot and that he really didn't have a clue of what was going on in the real world. They had also agreed that the kid was completely incapable of controlling himself. 

Ma had admitted that Shindou did use sex to try to sell himself to the public. But, to that idiot sex was nothing more that a game and meant nothing. Tachi was actually laughing. Tonight he was planning on pressing a little harder. He might even begin to tell him that he knew the secret.

He was so deep in thought he did not see or hear the car careening towards him at high speed. The impact was a shock. He felt his hips crunch under the impact and his head flew towards the windshield. As his head made contact, he heard his own neck snap. To him it was a sudden relief, at least now he couldn't feel the pain in his hips anymore.

The rest became surreal as he suddenly took flight. He felt like if he lifted his arms, he would become some kind of superhero. But, his arms wouldn't move; and he met the ground soon enough. It was strange that he didn't feel that either.

Ma was laughing when the ambulance arrived. He never lost consciousness.

* * *

Ma-chan had left over two hours ago and Tachi was still sitting there thinking about all that Ma had said. Somehow, without even trying, Ma had managed to make him feel cheap and dirty about what he was doing to Shindou. The funniest thing was, he didn't feel anything for Shindou any more. His thoughts were consumed with Ma. 

A sudden jolt hit him and he almost laughed, somewhere along the line he had fallen in love. There was no way that Ma was going to approve of what he had done. Ma would probably leave him and Tachi wouldn't blame him if he did. He was going to have to have the hit called off then he could get on with his life, with Ma.

Tachi had reached for the phone to call his uncle when it rang under his hand.

"Aizawa here."

"Tachi, its Ken."

"Hey Ken, I'll be at the studio in about an hour. I have some things I need to take care of this morning."

"Listen Tachi, I have some bad news. I got a call from Ma's mother a few minutes ago. I'm sorry Tachi, but Ma was hit by a drunk driver this morning on his was to the studio. I don't know all the details, but I do know that he is badly injured." Tachi clearly heard the hitch in Ma's voice, "And, Tachi, he is not expected to survive."

"Which hospital Ken?"

"They won't let you in. Nobody is getting in, not even his mother."

"Just tell me which hospital!" He didn't mean to yell at Ken, but he couldn't control the feeling of sick panic.

"University of Tokyo Hospital, but I don't think you should go, not yet."

"Fuck you!" Tachi screamed into the phone and ran out the door.

* * *

Ryo and Dee had been waiting a couple of hours outside of Shindou's apartment building. They had noted when Shindou left just a few minutes after K went in but there was no sign of Yuki. They had offered to provide K with some back-up. He had refused stating that Yuki might panic and make a bad situation worse. 

They both breathed a sigh of relief when K finally emerged.

"Get in the car." K ordered before taking getting in behind the wheel himself.

"What's up?" Ryo asked tentatively, not liking the look on the blonde man's face.

"Plans have changed." K's look was grim, "You're not going to be making any arrests right away."

"Why the hell not, did you kill the guy up there?" Dee using all of his usual tact cut in.

"Nope, I assure you, he is very much alive."

"And what, you just let him go?"

"Yeah, for now, I had to. Don't worry you'll get your arrest. It's just that there are certain…complications."

"What sort of complications." Ryo suddenly felt like thing were getting out of control.

"There are several and I'll tell you everything in a minute. First, I want you to know that my first concern is for the safety of my singer. Any crime Yuki has committed comes secondary to that. I will do anything I need to protect Shindou."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryo suddenly felt like slapping Dee, it was never a good idea to challenge someone like K.

"What that means it that you are going to have to wait. I have made an agreement with Mr. Yuki. He assures me that if he is killed or arrested other assassins will follow and Shindou would still be in danger."

"That's not really our concern." Dee just didn't know when to shut up.

"No, Dee you're wrong," Ryo grasped his partner's shoulder, "It is out concern. It is our job to stop crime, not just investigate the results. If we can actually stop someone from dying, then I am willing to listen to what K has to propose."

Dee finally sat back in his seat in a huff, "Fine, go ahead and tell us."

"First, and most importantly, Yuki has agreed to turn State's evidence against his organization. Second, he has agreed to change his role to one of protector of Shindou. And, finally, he has agreed not to run. He knows what is waiting for him when all of this is over. He is willingly going to allow you and only you Ryo, to arrest him."

"And just what makes you think he is actually going to do all of this?" Dee just wouldn't let it go.

K smirked, "Because Detective Laytner Yuki is in love with Shindou and will do whatever it takes to protect him. In return, I have agreed to help him afterwards." He glanced over and caught Ryo's nod and grinned again.

"I told him about your instincts Ryo. That is the reason he will only allow you to arrest him. You, he trusts to arrest first and fire only if you have to."

Dee made several rude noises before K was allowed to continue.

"I'll introduce you on the plane later. I want you to know that he is really not a bad guy. I don't know what pushed him into this life, but he was pushed. He did not choose this for himself. He originally came from a wealthy and influential family, a clean family. Something very bad must have happened to him, he won't tell me what it was, not yet."

"You had just better be right about this, K. If you lose him, I'm holding you responsible."

* * *

Once again I would like to thank my reviewers, only 3 this time. **girlo 0, Bloody Dead Rose, and SuperDrive.** Thank you so much for your continued comments and support.

Please Read and Review to let me know how you think the story is going.


	8. Chapter 7

Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

* * *

Transition 

Chapter 7

The plane was leaving in three hours and Shuichi had just managed to get away from the studio. He had gotten all of the costumes and equipment he was going to take packed and placed on a truck which was already heading towards the airport. Now he needed to run home and get his personal things packed. And, he was going to see Yuki. It had only been a few hours and Shu was missing him already.

Running all the way home, he was flushed and out of breath when he flew in the door. For some reason he had gotten this weird feeling that Yuki would not be there when he got back. Relief quickly turned to delight as he found Yuki waiting with lunch ready. Ignoring the lunch, he leapt into Yuki's arms, putting arms around the blonde's neck he hopped up to wrap his legs around the slim waist. It was a really good thing they were standing next to a wall or they both would have ended up on the floor.

Yuki was finally able to get his balance and Shu was delighted to feel one of Yuki's arms go around his waist and the supported his rear end. Shu continued kissing him until both were out of breath. His head was gently pulled onto Yuki's shoulder.

"What's all this for? Not that I didn't enjoy it."

"I was afraid. I mean, I just had this feeling that you weren't going to be here when I got home. I was just happy to see you. I missed you."

Yuki gave him one last hug before setting him back on the floor. "As much as I would love to carry you back to the bedroom for the rest of the afternoon, we do have a plane to catch. Now, lunch first, then you take a shower; you're sweaty. And, you still need to get packed. I promise we'll spend some time together on the plane."

"Okay Yuki." Shu gave one of his brightest smiles. He knew he really did have to hurry so he bolted down his lunch and ran for the bathroom.

As soon as the water started to get warm, Yuki was in the shower with him.

* * *

Tachi nearly wrecked his own car twice in his rush to get to the hospital. He couldn't get the picture of a horribly maimed Ma out of his head. The traffic was so slow he was afraid that Ma wouldn't make long enough for him to get there. He needed to make it in time. He needed to tell Ma that he did love him.If Ma died he wanted him to know that he was loved. Ma had told him often enough. His love was the only person who could see his pain and anger and turn it into something useful. 

Finally he had the hospital in sight and screeched into the lot, taking the first space he could find. He ran all the way to the reception desk and got Ma's room number in the trauma center. Once he had the number, he took off at a run again with the receptionist yelling that he would not be allowed in. After a short search he found the room and pushed his way in before anyone could stop him.

He supposed he hadn't really believed until he came face to face with the pitiful, broken angel lying on the bed in front of him. Ma's head was bandaged and one entire side of his face was swollen and bruised. He could see the ventilation tubes running into his throat. His head was supported by a thick neck brace. Tubes and wires connected him to so many machines, Tachi couldn't tell what was connected to what.

"My god Ma!" Tachi gasped in shock, "What happened to you?"

Pulling the single chair over to the bed, Tachi took Ma's hand before sitting. Suddenly his nerve almost failed him. Ma was in such bad shape he couldn't possibly hear him, and there were so many other concerns. But, he had to do it, he had to tell him before it was too late.

"Ma," he spoke gently but loudly enough to be heard over the hissing of the ventilator and the beeping of the machines, "Its Tachi, I'm here now. I don't know if you can hear me, but I need to tell you that I love you." Once he had said the words he felt wonderfully better. "I love you Ma. Try to stay with me if you can. I want you with me."

As Tachi was talking a couple of the machines started to beep and buzz wildly. Doctors and nurses began rushing into the room. Tachi panicked, "What's going on?" he pulled a nurse to the side but she shrugged him off and ignored his question, "He's not dying is he?" Tachi shouted to anyone who might be listening, "Please tell me he's not dying." No one seemed to even notice he was there.

After the noise had settled in the room again, a doctor finally came over to talk to him.

"I don't know who you are or how you got in here, but I want you to stay. When you were next to him his vital signs perked up." Tachi knew he looked as confused as he felt because the doctor made him sit again.

"What I'm saying is that he got a little better. He was responding to you."

Tachi breathed a sigh of relief, "So he's not dying?"

"Come to my office for a few minutes, I would like to have a few words with you."

The doctor Tanaka-sama led him across the hall and into a small glass walled cubicle.

"Have a seat. I need to get some information from you and I will tell you about your friend.

Tachi scooted the chair closer to the desk and nodded to the doctor to continue.

"First I would like to know who you are."

"Aizawa Tachi. Ma is my boyfriend; I love him." It all seemed to come out in a rush.

"Do you want to hear about your friend's condition? I imagine your really don't, but I do think it important that you do know. Eventhough his vitals raised a little just now, we still do not expect for him to survive."

Tachi lowered his head into his hands and pulled his hair hard enough to hurt.

"Aizawa-san your friend has several major problems. First, he has a head injury. This injury is not that severe. We are assuming that the impact to his head was diverted when his neck snapped. That is his second problem. He has a broken neck, and even if he does live he will most likely be paralyzed from the neck down with no chance of recovery. There were too many nerves severed. He also has two fractured hips and a shattered pelvis."

Tachi was hearing what the doctor was saying but it wasn't sinking in. It just didn't make sense. All the words were flying around in his head. All he wanted was a 'yes' or 'no', would Ma live.

"Right now he is in a coma. This is a coma that we induced because of his head injury. It reduces any potential swelling on the brain and reduces the risk for brain damage. He was still conscious when the brought him in. All of the problems I have listed so far are only incidental to his internal injuries. These are the potentially fatal ones. Both of his kidneys were crushed and he is on full dialysis. His spleen was ruptured and his liver is severely bruised. We have managed to get the internal bleeding stopped. But, we do need to find a kidney donor if he is to have any chance at all."

"I'll donate mine whatever he needs."

"Aizawa-san, we will certainly test you for compatibility, but Ma-san is no where near ready for that kind of surgery yet. We must get his condition stabilized first. We are currently monitoring his brain for swelling. If there is no swelling after twenty-four hours, then we will try to bring him out of the coma. Then, if he is able to wake we will consider surgery options. I will shortly send in a nurse to test your compatibility for donation."

Sometime during the doctor's speech Tachi had started crying. He felt like he was losing Ma. He was losing something before he even had a chance to realize he had found it.

"Oh, and Aizawa-san, I would like for you to remain here as much as possible. I will have another bed brought in and a more comfortable chair. Since he responds to you, then just maybe, with you here he might stand a chance."

* * *

NG had purchased every seat in the economy class section of the airplane, but they were being treated as first class. With all of the personnel that would be required for this promotion every seat in the section was filled. 

To Shuichi's dismay, he was not seated next to Yuki. He had wanted to try to trade seats, but they had arrived so late there just wasn't time before takeoff. He sat fidgeting until the plane was in the air. He glanced back at Yuki repeatedly seeing that he looked pale and strained. 'He's afraid of flying!' The thought caused him to giggle out loud. As soon as it was announced they were free to move about the cabin, Shu was out of his seat and into Yuki's lap.

"You're afraid to fly aren't you?"

"Baka," Yuki teased with a smile on his face, "Anyone with any sense would be afraid. All things are subject to gravity, even us."

"I can make you feel better." He snuggled closer into Yuki's lap, wiggling his hips.

"You already have, Shu." Yuki pulled him even tighter and pulled his head onto his shoulder.

* * *

Yuki could tell that within a few minutes Shu had fallen asleep. There were several people in the cabin giving then odd stares. 'Let them stare,' Yuki thought, as long as he had Shu close, he could care less what anyone thought. Running a hand over Shu's hair he placed a small kiss on top of the boy's head. Taking what he knew would be one of the last few moments of peace he would ever have, he laid his head against Shu's and let his own eyes close.

* * *

K watched as Shindou and Yuki snuggled together in Yuki's seat and smiled. If had any doubts about Yuki's true feelings towards the boy, they were gone now. He could tell by the look in Yuki's eyes that he was totally besotted with the boy. There was also a look of fierce protectiveness that he was very happy to see. 

Once it appeared that both Shindou and Yuki were both sleeping. He started making his way to the forward section of the plane. He had arranged for the use of the crew's lounge for the little meeting he had planned. Detectives Laytner and McClean were already waiting when he arrived.

"Where is he K?" Dee demanded as soon as he entered.

"Come with me, there is something I want you to see first." K led the two men back to NG's section of the plane. Stopping at the entrance he pointed to the back wall, letting the men see Yuki quietly holding Shindou. He wanted them to know that the relationship between the two was true. K held his gaze for a few seconds not surprised when Yuki's eyes opened and amber eyes locked onto his.

* * *

Yuki sensed that he was being watched. Slowly opening his eyes his gaze immediately locked with K's. There were two other men, one standing at each of K's shoulders, who were also staring. They must be the two NYPD Detectives K had spoken about. He knew it was time, the game was about to begin. Placing one more small kiss on Shu's head, he prepared to begin. 

"Shu" Yuki whispered into the boy's ear, "I have to go speak with K. You stay here. I'll be back in a little while." Yuki couldn't hear what Shu mumbled back but it seemed to be an assent.

He was able to get out of his seat with Shu in his arms. Once Yuki had him settled back into the seat, he took a second to stretch his back. He was in no real rush to go meet his fate so he took the time to lean Shu's seat back and took out the blanket and pillow, making the boy more comfortable. Shu whimpered in his sleep when Yuki pulled away.

"Shh Love, I'll be back soon, I promise." After another kiss on the lips Yuki headed to the front of the cabin.

* * *

Ryo looked amused as he watched Yuki's ministrations. Dee, however, did not look at all amused. 

"It could all just be an act. I don't trust it." Dee commented.

"I don't think so Dee," Ryo gave his partner a soft look, "You weren't watching his eyes. I believe he really does love him."

K was nodding at Ryo's words, "That's why I wanted you guys to see this. I wanted you to see what I saw, to see why I trust him. But, I will leave it up to you to make up your own minds."

K did keep his eyes focusedon the assassin as he made his way up the aisle and signaled for Yuki to follow him. K almost laughed as Ryo and Dee took up positions behind him, boxing him in. He felt like he had his own personal set of bodyguards. Everyone remained quiet as they entered the lounge.

Once in the lounge they had to wait a few seconds for Yuki to catch up. Everyone was seated once he arrived. K offered Yuki a seat but he chose to stand, pacing nervously back and forth until K started talking.

"Introductions first I think; Detective Randy McClean and Detective Dee Laytner this is Uesugi Eiri, or Yuki Eiri, or Mr. Thomas." K grinned at Yuki, "Did I miss any?"

"Does it matter? But, I do wish you keep the Uesugi part out of it. I don't want my family to be involved, or to even know."

"I won't promise you anything else Yuki, I am doing all I can." K tried not to let the delight show on his face. Yuki was showing concern for someone other than Shu or himself. "Anyways, Randy here," he pointed to the auburn haired man," prefers to be called Ryo. He will be the one actually making the arrest, at your request."

"I still don't like this whole thing," Dee never could just keep his mouth shut, "I don't trust you Mister, whatever your name is, I think this is all just a fake on your part."

Ryo put a hand over Dee's mouth to silence him, "Dee, don't, not now. There are other things to discuss here. By the way Mr. Yuki, that was one hell of a shot you made at the Walker Building the other day. I don't know of anyone on the force who could have made that shot."

Yuki gave one of he coldest smiles, "What shot Detective McClean?"

"Okay," K interrupted, "I think we all need to wait." Ryo's mouth immediately snapped shut at K's words.

"We have a really big problem. Not the worst that can happen, but damn near." K looked at everyone in the room trying to gauge their reactions. So far, all the faces were blank, "I had an operative working on the source of the hit. He was trying to get the source to call it off on his own. My source was supposed to report in this morning, but I did not get a call at the scheduled time. I waited a while and decided to call him. It turns out he was hit by a drunk driver this morning. He is in a coma right now and he is not expected to live."

"So, you can't get the hit called off!" Yuki nearly screamed. "Dammit, I knew I should have taken Shu and ran back in Japan. Now we're flying into the hornet's nest. How the hell am I supposed to keep protecting him? I can for a while…," Yuki grabbed his head and moaned, "Shit, oh Shit…!" he slid nearly boneless to the floor and began crying.

Everyone started towards Yuki but Ryo ended up holding Dee back.

"Yuki stop it!" K commanded roughly grabbing a shoulder, "This isn't helping. We will think of something."

"K," Yuki choked out, "when we get to LA, I want you to take Shuichi. Get him on a different plane; I don't care where you take him, just not to New York." The tears were still falling and Yuki's voice had pleading quality. "McClean go ahead and arrest me as soon as we land, I'll tell you everything I know maybe it will be enough."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day. We should have done this in the first place." Dee was quick to agree.

"Yeah, that's a really great idea," K couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice, "except for one thing you all seem to have forgotten and that is Shindou. He won't go, not with me. And eventhough I am tempted, it would be kidnapping."

"Then I'm going in there now to tell him the truth. If he knows," Yuki nearly choked on the words, "how I betrayed him, then he might go. I can stand for him to be hurt and hating me if it saves his life."

"Still won't work, he loves you Yuki and Shu has a slight problem when something concerns those he loves. He takes the blame for everything onto himself. He would instantly forgive you or say there was nothing to forgive. This entire thing would be his fault for making someone angry. Then he would feel that he needed to protect you. It just won't work. We need to stick with the original plan."

"Mr. Yuki, how long do you have after you arrive in New York?" Ryo asked crouching at Yuki's side.

"As of my last update, I was given one week."

"I have to say that I strongly agree that Shindou should be told," Ryo added, "for some reason I thought he already knew. It is his life, let it be his decision. He should have some responsibility in his own protection." Ryo's glare took in everyone.

"You're right McClean," K suddenly saw the logic of the argument, "Shindou is so innocent that everyone automatically assumes that he can't take care of himself. But, he has shown remarkable ability to make good choices. Look at what he's done with his band. I don't believe there has ever been a band that has reached the top so quickly. He may seem like an idiot, but he is not."

"So, who should tell him?" Ryo asked.

"Me," Yuki spoke up, "it has to be me. I don't think he'll believe anyone else."

* * *

Shuichi awoke to find Yuki gone. Momentary panic was quickly stilled when he realized that they were on a plane and there were only so many places that he could have gone. Glancing around he caught Hiro's eyes and the red-head pointed towards the front of the cabin. Stretching a little, he went over to Hiro's seat. 

"He went with K and a couple of other men. I don't know where, just that they went out the front of the cabin."

Shu thanked him before taking off. He didn't see anyone in the next section and continued to the front. In the middle of the plane he heard voices from behind the crew cabin door one was definitely Yuki's.

"Yuki?" He poked his head in through the door, "Are you in here? I woke up and you were gone…Yuki! What's the matter?" It was obvious that Yuki had been crying and was still very upset. Shu glared around at everyone in the room. "K what is going on here, who are these men?"

"Shu," Yuki said quietly, "These men were just leaving. Come and sit next to me, we need to talk."

Shu continued to glare as K and the others left the cabin. He waited until everyone was gone before going to stand next to where Yuki was sitting on the floor.

"Please sit Shu I don't think I can get up right now."

"Did they hurt you Yuki? K has tried to warn people away from me before. I just knew this was going to happen."

"No Shu, well he did try to warn me off, but he had his reasons. This is another matter. Now, please sit?"

He did finally take a seat, across from the blonde so that he could see his eyes.

"Before I begin," Yuki looked like he was going to cry again, "I need to tell you that I really do love you. I love you more that I love myself and therein lies the problem, mine and yours." Yuki leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, when he made eye contact again, there were tears, "I'm not who you think I am," Yuki was trembling now and his voice shook. "In your rise to success with Bad Luck, you have made some powerful enemies. People who would stop at nothing to see you brought down. My boss, and no you wouldn't know who he is, is one of those people." Yuki had to pause to try to get his trembling under control.

"Yuki, it doesn't matter. Were you supposed to write some kind of juicy expose? The only skeleton I have in my closet is my relationships with men and most of the public already knows about that."

"I wish it were that simple. I am a journalist, but it's freelance so I don't really have a boss for that. The journalism is only a cover for my true job." Yuki was overcome with trembling again, "Oh god, this is so hard."

"Yuki, don't tell me then. I don't need to know. I love you no matter what. It is killing you to tell me, so let it go for now. Maybe you can tell me later." Shu knew he didn't want to hear what Yuki had to say, especially if he was so afraid to tell it. He wanted to be happy just a little longer.

"No, I have to tell you, and now. Shu, my real boss is in charge of an organized crime syndicate. I am a professional assassin; I kill people for a living. You are my next hit. I was contracted to win your trust, humiliate, betray, and finally kill you."

Shu felt the laugh forced out of him, "You're kidding, right?"

"Shu, look me in the eyes." When their eyes met, he could read the truth there, "I came to Japan to kill you, to put a bullet through your brain."

The shock was complete, Shu didn't say a word, he couldn't speak. He couldn't believe it. Yuki was serious. Finding his feet, he managed to stumble into the aisle. He spared one glace before pulling the door closed to see Yuki fall the rest of the way to the floor and curl into a ball. There was no sound of tears. Shu turned his back and walked out.

* * *

K had taken a position at the entrance to the economy section to wait on Shindou to come out. He didn't have long to wait. K thought he had seen every emotion possible on the kid's face, but what he saw there now scared him. Loss, bewilderment, betrayal, and deep hurt passed so quickly that it hard to gauge. There was no sparkle in those eyes now, the loss of vitality made him immeasurably sad. 

Stepping in front of the unseeing Shindou, he used his body to stop him before he could get back to his seat. A quick tug pulled the unresisting Shindou into the refreshment compartment area.

"I'm not in the mood K." The glare he got was heated and angry.

"He told you? How much?"

"Enough K, he told me enough."

"Shindou, this is important. How much did he tell you?"

"He told me he wanted to kill me! Isn't that enough?"

"First Shindou, he does not want to kill you. But, you need to tell me everything he said."

"He said he was an assassin contracted to kill me."

"Is that all?"

"I walked out K. I didn't want to hear any more."

"Dammit Shindou, you need to listen. Since you wouldn't listen to Yuki, you will listen to me. Yuki, back there, is a dead man walking because of you. Do you hear me, dead! And, he knows it. He has given up everything for you. Yes, he is an assassin; yes, he was contracted to kill you; and yes, he met you and fell in love with you." K sighed and lowered his voice, "Those other men that were there when you walked in, they are New York police Detectives. Yuki has agreed to turn himself in when we get to New York. He is going to give evidence to bring down his organization. We have been working to get the hit called off. In the meantime, Yuki has agreed to protect you. Here is the bottom line for him, if he breaks the contract, his organization will kill him. By protecting you he will probably die. When he turns evidence over to the police someone will probably get to him in jail and kill him. Even if he makes it to the trial, he will undoubtedly receive the death penalty. No matter what happens now Yuki will die. Because he loves you, he has chosen your life over his, time and time again. He even begged me to kill him."

As he spoke, K watched Shu's face get paler and paler. By the time he was finished, Shindou looked like he was going to be sick. Thoughts passed over his face and it was a few moments before he said anything.

"What do I need to do?"

"It is your decision Shindou, but there is more to tell." K gave a sigh of relief that he finally had Shindou listening, "This is not over yet. The hit is still on. By my estimation, Yuki is the best person to protect you, he is damned good at what he does and he is willing to die to protect you. But right now, he is probably a broken man. I know that he has to be. He volunteered to tell you and you walked out on him."

"Just give me a minute K, I need to think."

K went back to his seat and left Shindou to himself. He knew the boy would make the right decision once he thought things over.

* * *

Jumbled thoughts filled his head, he needed time to sit and think. Did any of it really matter? He knew the reason he was mad was because he loved Yuki so much. K had made it clear that Yuki really did love him. But, could he trust him? Thinking back on everything that he had been told, he felt the anger drain out of him. Yuki was nothing but a pawn it was the source of the hit that he should be mad at, not Yuki. 'Yes,' Shu suddenly decided, he could trust him; his heart was telling him that he could trust Yuki with his life. 

Making his way back to where he had left Yuki laying on the floor, he found the man in a fetal position with his arms covering his head. K was right, he looked broken. Shu didn't say anything, couldn't think of anything that would make the situation any better. He didn't think that Yuki even knew he was there. Sitting quietly on the floor, he pulled Yuki into his arms.

"I love you Yuki, I'm sorry." Once again not knowing what to say, Shu pulled Yuki's arms from around his head and kissed him deeply. Shu pulled back to find Yuki's amber eyes stating at him in wonder.

"Why did you come back?"

"Because I love you and I remembered what you said, that no matter what happened you did love me." Shu gave a small laugh, "Plus, K opened my eyes to a few facts and pounded some sense into my head."

"I knew I liked that guy." Yuki sniffled, tears coming again.

"He said you begged him to kill you, is that true?"

"Yes, I did." Yuki let his head fall, "I was in pain. It was the chicken's way out and it would not have helped the situation, not for you."

"K thinks you can protect me."

"I'm going to try Shu. But, as soon as they find out I have reneged on the contract, they are going to come after you and me in force. K is counting on me because he knows that I am good at my job. In truth, I am number one, and the people in the business do keep track of that. I am the best and have been for a while. There will be a lot of people that come after me, just to try to take me down, to get the number one spot for themselves. And Shu, not even K knows about that." Shu was very glad that Yuki did not smile or show any kind of pride in being number one. "K wants for me to protect you, and I will be able to, for a while. The catch is, you will have to disappear with me for a while. I don't want you to do it. I think there is another option. When we get to Los Angeles, I want for you and K to get on another plane. It doesn't matter where you go just don't come to New York. Please Shu if you love me, go with K."

"That's not fair Yuki. It's my decision. And you are using my feelings to force me to do what you want."

"I'm sorry. I hadn't intended to resort to emotional blackmail. It's just that no matter what happens to me, I want you to be safe."

"I'll feel safest with you. I'm sorry Yuki, I won't go. It's not just that I don't want to leave you, but if I run now, I'll be running for the rest of my life."

"K said you wouldn't go." Yuki managed the sweetest smile he had ever seen in his life.

"I just need to know who did this. I need to know who I should be mad at. Do you know?"

"Yeah, I found out. It is a rival of yours, Aizawa Tachi. His uncle is my boss."

"It figures, he always was a bastard."

* * *

I once again give cookies to all of my reviewers:

**girlo, catmum56, Bloody Dead Rose, murray the leprechaun, and Athen Blade**

Thank you all I love to hear your feedback Please continue to read and review.


	9. Chapter 8

Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

* * *

Snow Storm

Chapter 8

The plane carrying the NG personnel landed smoothly at Ronald Reagan. The plane was only delayed thirty minutes due to the weather. They were lucky the plane was allowed to land at all. Residents of New York were battening down and preparing for one of worst Nor'easters that had been predicted in the past fifty years. Blizzard conditions were expected over the next twenty-four hours. Up to three feet of snow was expected to fall. By the time the plane had landed there was already six inches of snow on the ground.

As it turned out, their plane was the last one allowed to land that evening. All other flights were being rerouted to either Atlanta or Chicago. By the time everyone was packed into the rented limos, winds were howling at forty-five miles per hour. Driving was very difficult, but once they were actually in the city, things became a little easier. The buildings did block some of the wind and snow. They still gained at least two more inchesaccumulation by the time they arrived at the hotel.

NG had rented the two top floors of the hotel for twenty nights. Their stays in New York and Los Angeles would be longest. The biggest markets were considered to be on the east and west coasts.

Yuki ended up having to bring in the luggage for both him and Shu. The kid could barely even stand up in the wind, not to mention he had only worn shorts and a sweatshirt. He had tried to getthe kidto go up to the room and get into a hot bath. He thought he had succeeded but when he turned back with last of their luggage, he could see Shu through the glass hopping up and down in a vain attempt to get the circulation going again in his frozen legs.

"Baka," Yuki smiled to himself as he struggled to put the last of their luggage onto the cart. All of the valets were currently busy assisting with getting everyone else's luggage in and hauling it up to the guest rooms. Yuki didn't want to wait. After the luggage was in, he went and got their room key and pulled the luggage cart into the elevator himself.

"Come on Shu," he had to yell back at the still bouncing boy, "Let's get moving, I need to get you warm."

"I like the snow Yuki. Yuki means snow, you know?" Even in the midst of this crisis the kid's enthusiasm had not diminished.

"I know Shu." In response he couldn't keep the frown plastered to his own face.

"Do you remember when we first met? I asked you if you were Japanese. You never answered, are you?" The singer was now hopping over to the cart.

"Yes, I was born in Japan. And, eventhough I may not look it, I am fully Japanese."

"Is Yuki your real name?"

"Why so many questions all of a sudden, Shu?"

"I just want to know."

Yuki was saved from answering by the elevator doors opening. Then they were too busy getting luggage into their room and unpacking. Shu wanted to help but Yuki immediately sent him in to get a hot bath. The kid, for once, obeyed without a complaint.

As soon as Yuki heard the water running, he started going through Shu's clothes, looking for something warmer. All the kid had brought were shorts, shorts, and more shorts. There wasn't even a coat or a jacket. He stuffed them in a drawer in disgust. These clothes were going to be no help when they had to run. Shu had tried to maintain an upbeat attitude, but Yuki knew that eventually they were going to have to disappear.

Yuki knocked on the door before entering the bathroom. Shu was sitting in the tub happily singing one of Bad Luck's songs at the top of his lungs.He didn't notice him come in.

"Shu! SHU-CHAN!" He had to yell to be heard.

"Hey, Yuki, come and get in, the water feels good. I only have a shower at home, I don't have a tub. Maybe I'll move so that I can have a tub." Yuki could only smile, not even the threat of imminent death could deter him. Everyone should be so happy.

"I can't right now." He held up a pair of Shu's shorts, "Are these all the clothes you brought?"

"Do you think I should have packed more?"

"Well, not more, but all you brought were shorts. Didn't you bring anything warmer?"

"That's all I ever wear, even in winter."

"I'm going to have to call K to see if he can arrange any warmer clothes. You're going to need them." Yuki started to close the door but Shu stopped him with a question.

"You avoided my question earlier and I really want to know, is Yuki your real name? I want to call you by your real name."

"I understand. No, Yuki is not my real name. You're not going to like this, but Yuki is the name of the first person I killed. But, you have to keep calling me that."

"TELL ME YOUR REAL NAME!" Shu yelled, looking very angry.

Yuki sighed, "Uesugi Eiri."

"But, that…that was the name…" Yuki silenced him with a hand over his mouth.

"Yes it is, and yes Mika is my sister. But, she can't know, she must never know…about me."

"Yuki will you tell me what happened to you, why you became…you know?"

"Yes, I will tell you tonight after supper. We'll order room service." Yuki didn't think Shu would like what he was going to hear. "We'll order something when you get out. Right now I have a couple of other calls to make, you get finished up in here."

Yuki went back into the room for a second and grabbed a pair of his sweats, "Oh and here's a pair of my pants, wear them for now."

"Okay Yuki."

As Yuki pulled the door closed, he could hear Shu start to sing happily again.

Yuki took a seat on the edge of the bed. It was now or never. He took out his cell phone and dialed his boss' number.

"Mr. Thomas here."

"Good to hear from you Thomas" a shadowy voice came on the other end of the line, "I was afraid that you would be unable to get in. I heard they closed all of the airports."

"Ours was the last flight they allowed to land."

"Very good Mr. Thomas. There has been a complication here. You are needed for another job. We need to move up the hit. You have forty-eight hours Mr. Thomas."

"The weather is going to complicate matters. I do not currently have the necessary equipment."

"I am already giving you extra time to allow for the weather, I want this done right away. I could care less what method you use, strangle him if you have to, you won't need anything for that. Just get it done! You will meet Mr. Smith in your usual spot in seven days. Am I understood?"

Yuki clicked end and laid the phone on the bed. He turned to see Shu staring at him wide-eyed. He quickly rushed to pull the boy into his arms.

"I'm sorry you weren't supposed to hear that. I'm getting sloppy."

Shu was frightened and trembling, "This is all real isn't it? I guess I really didn't believe it until now. Yuki I'm scared."

Hepicked Shu up and carried him to the bed before he could collapse, "I'm scared too but I am going to do everything in my power to protect you."

Shu nodded, "I'll be all right, just hold me a little longer."

* * *

Tachi had not left Ma's side since the interview with the doctor. The nurses had told him that Ma's vitals were continuing to improve but, he couldn't see any difference. Tachi had shoved his own little bed over so that he could be as close as possible. What he really wanted was to climb into the bed with Ma. He thought that minute he tried he would probably end up out on his butt. So he settled for holdingthe coldhand.He had talked until his voice was hoarse and his throat raw.

After endless hours of talking, he finally decided he was too exhausted to do any more good. Lying down in his own bed he took Ma's hand again, "Goodnight angel, I love you," he whispered before closing his eyes. He was just drifting off to sleep when he felt Ma's hand twitch.

After that everything seemed to happen very fast. The twitch became a flutter and all of the alarms on all of the machines in the room seemed to start going off at once. Doctors and nurses started rushing in again, swarming the room. Tachi's bed was roughly shoved out of the way. He could only watch in terror. He could hear one of the physicians yelling for Tegretol and Dilantin. A nurse quickly injected something into Ma's IV. The entire thing ended almost as soon as it had started, but it seemed like hours.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten he was even there and began leaving the room without a word. After several tries, he was finally able to get one doctor's attention.

"Please, is he dying? What happened? I felt his hand twitch and then…" This statement finally seemed to get the doctor's full attention.

"Aizawa wasn't it?"

Tachi bowed his head.

"Your friend had a seizure, not that uncommon with a head injury. We have put him on medication that should prevent this from happening again. Actually in his case this is a good sign. His brain activity is increasing even in the coma. But, what interests me is that you said his hand moved. We did not believe this would be possible, we had thought him to be paralyzed from the neck down. If his hand moved then the paralysis does not go up as far as we originally thought."

"Does that mean he might get back to normal?"

"I'm afraid not. He still will have paralysis. It simply means that he might be able to breathe on his own. If he is able to move his hands and arms, he might be able to achieve some independence in the future. Remember Aizawa-san what I said about his internal injuries. His condition is still extremely grave."

"Thank you doctor," Tachi croaked out.

"You have been doing a really good job with him you know. Wait here, I'm going to get you something to help you."

After the doctor left Tachi pushed his bed back over next to Ma's. He took a seat cross-legged to stare at the still form. He felt like he could stay awake for several more hours now. The doctor was back in a few minutes with a throat spray. The medicine helped and in the end, he was awake all night.

* * *

Khad just gotten settled in his room when his cell phone began ringing.

"K here."

"K, can you come to our room?" Yuki sounded upset, "There is a problem."

"Give me a minute, I'll be right over." Hurrying to change clothes, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He yanked the door open in irritation, ready to take the head off of whoever was disturbing him. He jerked the door open to find a very embarrassed looking Hiro standing at his door.

"Sorry K, the hotel has overbooked and I don't seem to have a bed. I was told that you don't have a roommate and I was wondering if I could bunk with you." Eventhough Hiro's head was down K could tell that he was blushing to his toes.

K grabbed his chin and lifted Hiro's head wondering, not for the first time, why he though of this boy as Hiro rather that Nakano. He never thought of clients' by their given names.

"Sure Hiro, bring in your stuff and get unpacked. Take the bed by the window. I have to leave and I'll probably be gone for a while. Go ahead and order something to eat. You'll probably be asleep when I get back so don't worry about it."

He was out the door without even taking the time to get a thank you. He could feelHiro's eyes on his back as he walked down the hall. He blocked a sudden guilty feeling, 'why would he be feeling guilt?' as he walked away.

A very pale Shu answered the door when he knocked. He could see Yuki in the background rushing around the room, shoving things into an overnight bag. He pushed past Shindou and grabbed Yuki by the arm.

"What's happened, what the hell is the matter?"

When Yuki looked up, K could read the panic in his eyes. Seeing that look in those cold ambereyes, K steeled himself for what was to come.

"They've moved up the hit. I only have forty-eight hours."

His knees went weak and he quickly sat on the bed, "What are you going to do?"

"I've got to get him out of here, now!"

"Are you crazy! Look outside, there has got to be at least a foot and a half of snow out there and it is still coming down. The wind is blowing so hard you can't see a foot in front of your face. You and Shindou would both freeze to death in a very short time."

"Would you rather see him with a bullet through his head!" Yuki shouted.

K watched as Shindou's face got even paler. But, it was the boy who finally managed to calm Yuki down. He simply walked over and wrapped his arms around Yuki's waist, looking him in the eyes.

"He's right Yuki. I know it and you know it too."

Yuki returned Shindou's hug but continued to glare daggers at K. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

"First, I suggest we get something to eat. I'm hungry." K grinned trying to cool the situation further. The statement was so absurd at this point in time that even Yuki managed a smile. The ordered room service and Yuki ended up having to help Shindou order because he kept looking at the menu upside down.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping him with English?" K joked.

"I just did, didn't I?" Yuki managed to quip back.

* * *

Ryothought the night they had to spend back in Japan was bad, but it wasn't anything compared to what they were going through now.

When they had first gotten off of the plane he andDee were expected back at the station immediately to give a report. These were some of the most uncomfortable moments he would ever spend in his life.

He andhis partnerhad spent the entire trip to the station coming up with logical reasons why they had just let an assassin and multiple murderer go. Neither could think of anything that would not blow K's cover. They ended up settling on the 'catching a bigger fish' excuse. Neither was sure this would really work since Mr. Yuki was a pretty big fish himself.

It was no surprise that as soon as they got into the station, the Chief started yelling. "Dee, Ryo, get your asses in here! I sent you all the way to Japan, now where is your perp! I don't see anyone in cuffs! Did you enjoy your little vacation! I'm taking this out of your salaries!" The Chief was red-faced and panting when he was done.

"Chief," Dee began, "there is more to this…"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"We were right, Chief," Ryo tried, "Mr. Yuki is the assassin. He has agreed to turn State's evidence."

"Then where the hell is he!"

"Well Chief, we had to let him do something first. The situation is complicated, he did go to Japan for another hit, but he…umm…fell in love with his mark." Ryo now looked to him for help.

"He is now acting as protector for said mark. He is the best person for the job." Dee added nervously.

"You go arrest his ass now. Bring the mark into protective custody…"

As the Chief continued to rage, Ryo noticed that a crowd had gathered outside the chief's office. He what he was about to say could not be heard by anyone else. As the Chief was busy chewing Dee's ass, Ryo went over and closed the door and blinds. He walked over and took the insignia book off of the shelf and searched until he found Shadow Operations. He quietly laid the opened book on the Chief's desk.

Ryo had to yell twice to be heard over the ranting.

"What the Hell do you want!" The Chief rounded on him.

"I want you to look at something." Ryo pointed to the insignia in the book.

"So?"

"Have you ever seen one of these?"

"Yeah smartass, it's right there in front of me."

"I mean have you ever actually met anyone wearing one?"

Ryo could swear the Chief's face turned a slight shade of green, "Hell no, no one's ever supposed to see these."

"Well we have. And, let's just say that any attempts to arrest this man at this point in time would be frowned upon."

"You made your point, now put that away." The Chief waved nervously at his bookshelf. He was wringing his hands like they needed to be washed.

"And, Chief," Ryo thought he would add, "if this works, the entire organization will fall."

"Just tell me one thing Ryo, why are they involved?"

"It's a personal matter, for the agent."

"All right, but you had still better not lose him!" The Chief was back to yelling again,

"Get your asses back on the trail!"

* * *

After the visit to the precinct he and Ryo sat watching the hotel. Not that he could see anything in this weather anyways. Dee figured the snow would be over the top of the car by morning. They took turns going out to clear the tailpipe. The ignition could not be turned off for more than a few minutes without the car becoming freezing inside. Dee watched the gas gauge carefully and knew they wouldn't make it the entire night. Ryo hadn't been feeling well and Dee was letting him sleep.

"Ryo, wake up," Dee finally gave in to eventuality and the weather, "we're not going to make it out here. We need to get someplace warmer."

"We can't leave Dee," the car was getting colder and Ryo's teeth were chattering even with the engine running and the heater going full blast. "Chief'll kill us."

"Don't be an idiot Ryo, we can't stay here and we can't go in there," Dee pointed to Yuki's hotel. "Let's try that one." He pointed to another hotel across the street. "I'll try to get us a room with a facing view. You wait here and don't shut the engine off its too cold in here already."

"Yeah right, I'll keep it warm." Ryo tried to smile but all he got was more teeth chattering instead.

Dee knew he had been gone a long time when he finally managed to get back out to the car. And, he was not a happy camper.

"Couldn't get a room?" Ryo forced out when he got back into the car.

"I got one, but I had to pull my badge and we had to pay double, one for the room and one for the couple they were forced to move to a new room. At least we have our view. I'll get our bags, you just get inside."

"I can help Dee."

"Just get inside Ryo. Besides you'll have to get the phone, they called the Chief."

"Shit, thanks Dee, just what I need tonight."

Dee finally made it up to the room to find Ryo lying on the bed wrapped in blankets and fully dressed.

"Chief call?" Ryo only nodded yes.

"And…?"

"Told him I'd pay, shut him up real fast."

Ryo was still shivering so badly that he was getting worried. "Ryo, go get a hot bath, it'll help."

"Can't move." Ryo groaned, "I feel dizzy."

Dee took it upon himself to get Ryo undressed and into the hot water. Ryo felt a little warm to the touch, but it wasn't too bad. After the bath, he gave Ryo a couple of Tylenol and sent him to bed. He would have to stay up all night, but at least he was warm. Turning on the television, he prepared for a boring night.

He had make the mistake of dozing off and was started awake by the sound of a single gunshot that sounded like it came from the room just a floor below. Ryo was out of the bed in an instant pulling on his clothes. Dee was already at the door.

"Stay here Ryo, I'll check this out." He commanded and ran out the door.

* * *

Yuki, Shu, and K had just finished dinner. None of them had really felt like eating anything, but K had insisted that they should.

"K could you scout the inside of the hotel, to see if there is anywhere Shu could hide here. At least until the weather settles?"

"Huh, it might work for a while. I'll look, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have to leave for while," Yuki noticed the frightened look on Shu's face and gently touched his cheek, "just for a few hours. I have to pick up some things. I'm not much good to you as I am."

K nodded but Shu only looked confused.

"I'm sorry Shu, I have to look like I'm getting ready which means I am going to have go and pick up a few things…"

Suddenly there was a loud pop in the room and Yuki felt a sting on his cheek. He placed his fingers to the area and they came away bloody. He turned to glance at the window, quickly locating the bullet hole and followed the path to where the bullet was embedded in the wall. The shot had not been directed at Shu, but at him.

Everything seemed to slow down as Yuki quickly got up. He glanced to K to see that he was drawing his gun and he motioned for him to stop. Shu had fallen back on his rear from the shock and Yuki motioned for him to stay down. He walked to the window and traced where the bullet had come from. 'Hotel across the street, one floor down' he noted to himself. There was no movement now. A flash of light caught his eye, another gunshot. Two more flashes followed and the lights came on. Dee was in the other room and looking out the window. Their eyes metand the detective gave him a wave. Yuki quickly closed the curtains. The world slowed back down. Heturned back to see both Shu and K starting at him in amazement.

"I guess that's why you're considered the best." K announced calmly at the same time Shu said, "Yuki, they shot you!"

* * *

K had never seen anyone move so fast in his life. And there was different look in Yuki's eyes, one that K remembered from years ago. They were no longer standing in the room with Eiri Yuki, journalist. This was Mr. Thomas, professional assassin.

* * *

Yuki's first thought was for Shu. He quickly pulled him up from the floor.

"Was that for me?" Shu's voice shook with his trembling.

Yuki's eyes flashed back for just a second, "No love, not yet. That was a warning for me." He grabbed Shu in a quick hug and gave him the briefest of kisses. When he raised his head again Mr. Thomas was back.

"That was just a warning, I have to go. K, please take Shu back to your room for the night. Don't leave him alone. Take some of his things, he cannot come back to this room."

"Yuki," Shu cried, "you can't just leave me." Shu made a grab for Yuki's arm but K stopped him.

"That's not Yuki right now Shu. You may want Yuki, but that is Mr. Thomas right now and that is who you are going to need." When Yuki made a step in Shu's direction he flinched back. Yuki saw the flinch and his eyes snapped back from their intense coldness. He got to his knees in front of the kid.

"Don't ever be afraid of me. This is part of me too, and every part of me loves you. This is to protect you, not to hurt you. You were able to still love me when you found out I was an assassin, don't stop now that you have seen him. He is part of me, but not all, not even close."

"Okay Yuki, I think I understand. I'm afraid but I still love you."

"K, get him out of here, and call Dee. He can explain more about what happened. I don't have the time." Yuki pulled on a coat and hat, "I'll be back by morning." Yuki slipped quietly out the window.

* * *

"What the…" K made it to the window in time to see Yuki land on the ground, then he disappeared into the snow.

The singerwalked towards the window but K pulled him back, "Where did he go K? Did he jump? We're on the sixteenth floor!"

"Isaw him land Shindou, he's okay. Now, pack a few things, quickly, we need to get out of here."

* * *

Once again a big ThankYou to all of my reviewers: **girlo, SuperDrive, Kemet, kuma-chan, i love athrun, and murray the leprechaun**.

Read and Review


	10. Chapter 9

Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

**Lemon Warning This Chapter**

Sorry no Tachi and Ma this chapter. I promise more of them in the next.

* * *

Long Night

Chapter 9

K had completely forgotten about Hiro. He had been forced to almost drag Shindou back to his room and when he opened the door to find Hiro stretched out across the bed on his stomach watching television, he almost shot him. He had to quickly reholster his gun.

"Sorry Hiro, I forgot you were here."

K could see the look of amazement on Hiro's face. He had to practically drag Shindou into the room and the kid balked further when he saw Hiro lying on the bed.

"Uh, K, I'll just go back to my room, I'll be Okay, really." Shu pleaded.

"Baka!" K shouted and shoved Shindou into the room. "You will sleep here, and you will sleep on the floor between the two beds.

He turned to rummage in the closet and came up with a couple of pillows and extra blankets. Giving them a toss, they landed on Shindou's head. "Now lay down and go to sleep."

He could see the tears welling in Shindou's eyes, but he knew he couldn't let up now,

"Now! Get to BED!"

* * *

Hiro couldn't understand what was going on. He didn't really have a room problem, he had just wanted to try to get closer to K. First, K had invited him to stay, then leaves. When he finally comes back, he is dragging Shu with him. And, if that wasn't enough, he was treating Shu like he was a bad puppy. The entire situation was pissing him off.

"He can sleep with me K. I'm not going to have him sleeping on the floor." Shu gave him a hopeful look, but the manager squashed the idea quickly.

"No way Shindou, you stay on the floor," K looked Shu directly in the eyes, "between the beds. Do you understand?" Shu's eyes got big and he nodded. "Now lay down."

"You too Hiro," 'did I just call him Hiro?' "lie down and go to sleep." K stomped over and shut off both the television and the lights out, closing the blinds and curtains before getting into bed.

Hiro didn't think he could sleep now, but he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Hours later he was awakened to the sound of soft sobbing, he could tell without looking that it was Shu. He could also hear the soft murmur of K's voice.

"I'm sure he's all right Shu, he'll be back."

"But K, they shot him. They shot him over me. I am so scared."

"Do you regret not leaving in Los Angeles?"

"Yes and no, if I had left, I don't think I would be so scared. But, I hadn't come we wouldn't have had any more time together. I know my coming here has made things worse, worse for him and worse for me."

"Maybe Shindou, but we won't that for sure until this is over."

Hiro had never heard that tone in K's voice before, tender and loving. He didn't stop to think about what was being said, he only heard the tone of voice and was instantly, insanely jealous. He finally opened his eyes and he could see K sitting on the floor in the darkness, cuddling Shu like a baby, rocking him back and forth. Somehow, K must have sensed that he was awake, blue eyes lifted to meet his own. K held Hiro's eyes until Shu fell back to sleep.

Once Shu was settled back onto the floor, K motioned for him to follow him to the bathroom. Once inside K pinned him with a serious look, "I suppose you heard all that?"

Only now did he stop to think about what he had really been listening to. His eyes widened as he thought over what was said.

"I heard, who was Shu talking about? Who was shot?"

"I'll answer some of your questions, but only the ones I think are necessary. You must agree not to tell anyone about what I am going to tell you. And, do not mention anything to Shindou about you knowing. And, in the days to come, you must act surprised about anything odd that might happen. Do you agree?"

"I agree, now who was shot?"

"Yuki." Hiro's reaction of surprise was true this time.

"Why would anyone shoot him? Is he hurt badly?" Hiro was concerned if only for the fact that Shu seemed to love the guy.

"No he was just grazed. The story is very complicated and remember I can't tell you everything. Someone has contracted an assassin to kill Shindou. Yuki is trying to protect him. Anymore I will not and cannot tell you, for your own safety. I will ask that if you see anything else tonight you must keep quiet on you life and pretend to be asleep." He was getting scared himself and it must have shown in his eyes.

K could tell that he had seriously scaredthe other manhalf to death. Reading the fear, he meant only to comfort, butwhen Hiro's body melted against his it reminded him of the strange feelings he had been having whenever Hiro was near. He knew that the boy had a crush on him and the tingly feeling he was getting told him that he was certainly attracted too.

He couldn't seem to control the hand that found its way to the back of Hiro's head and allowed his fingers to run through the silky red tresses. Hiro pressed his body in closer so that he could hear the slight quickening of breath and feel the warm puffs on his ear. Hiro's arms found their way around his waist and the guitarist's began placing small kisses on his neck. He felt his own pulse begin to race. He knew what was going to happen between the two of them and he knew he should stop it, before it got out of hand. But, damn it, he wanted this.

* * *

Hiro felt his head being lifted from K's neck and looked up into blue flame eyes. He expected to be shoved away, told off, anything but K's lips descending on his own with a fierce passion. This was not a tender loving kiss; it was the kiss of someone who had been denied something they had wanted for a long while. He found his knees going weak and if K hadn't been holding him, he was sure he would have fallen. K's mouth was all over his kissing, biting, and probing with his tongue.

At first Hiro was powerless under the assault. But, he wanted this too and he had started it. Wrapping one of his legs around K's he brushed his erection against the blonde's growing hardness. At the same time he started nipping at the intruding tongue. K actually growled into his mouth. Strong hands began tearing at his clothes and pushing him towards the shower at the same time. It was a good thing neither had on many clothes because what they were wearing did not survive. Tee shirts and boxers lay torn on the floor. By the time they were in the shower both men were naked. K turned on the water, hiding any noise.

As K turned his head to adjust the water temperature Hiro dropped his head to begin kissing K's chest running a trail of kisses until he reached a nipple. Small bites and preceded light sucking as his hand found the other nipple to begin pinching it erect. K arched towards him groaning in pleasure.

He continued to work his was down K's body until he reached the stiff member. Licking the tip he blew gently, running his hands up the back of the blonde's thighs to massage his muscular cheeks. K's hands tangled in his hair, urging his head forward. He wasn't about to let the man get what he wanted that easily. Teasingly he licked the tip running his tongue along the small slit he could taste the precum just starting to emerge. K had begun to whimper and was gently thrusting toward his mouth.

Sliding his hands around to grasp K's hips, he finally took allowed K into his mouth, using his hands to control the thrusts. He couldn't take him completely without gagging, but it was close enough. He could tell K was getting close to climax when his body started to stiffen. Hiro slid one hand to massage the sensitive area just under the sack and K came almost immediately filling his mouth.

* * *

K wasn't completely sure when he had lost control of this situation. He had fully intended on fucking the shit out of Hiro. Now, it looked like Hiro was going to have him, and he still wanted it.

When Hiro got off of his knees, K found it was his turn to have his mouth ravaged. The feel of Hiro's naked body rubbing against his was making him hard again, and quickly. He felt Hiro start rocking back and forth again his leg and running calloused hands down his back to grip his ass firmly. Hiro put one foot on the side of the tub to raise himself high enough so that their erections would rub together.

K didn't know where Hiro had gotten lube from, but he gasped as slicked fingers began massaging his entrance. Slight pain followed as Hiro bit into his lower lip and a finger penetrated him at the same time. He instinctively stiffened at the intrusion.

* * *

Hiro paused, allowing K time to adjust. He couldn't believe that K was allowing his to do this. Of all the times he had dreamed of making love with K, it had always been him being submissive. But, K had let him take control. Wanting to make sure that this was really what K wanted, he handed him the lube and at the same time inserted a second finger. After a small grunt Hiro felt K grasp him with a well lubed hand, making him ready. Hiro rocked his hips into K's hand while working his own fingers, stretching and makingthe manready.

Hiro inserted a third finger when K's muscles had relaxed enough, once again waiting until he felt the blonde relax. This time he searched to the hardened area of K's prostate. A shiver and a gasp told him when he had found it and K loosened further. Hiro knew that he was ready as he ever was going to be.

Removing his lips from K's mouth he slid around behind. K was just too tall for him to enter directly. Hiro pushed him to his knees and K did not resist, even when he pushed K's knees to the edges of the tub. Hiro positioned himself on one knee and the other leg over K's hip and gently pressed against K's opening. "Now Hiro," the soft whisper met his ears and he guided the head in. That was as far as he got, K gasped in pain and tightened painfully. Hiro gritted his teeth and waited for the older man to adjust and loosen. They had to go a little at a time until he was all the way in.

Once K was adjusted to his full measure, Hiro began long slow thrusts, making sure he hit the sweet spot every time. Before long K was rocking back to meet him and Hiro picked up the pace. K kept up thrust for thrust. Hiro knew that he should be gentler since he imagined that this was K's first time, but he couldn't seem to control himself. Before long he was pounding into the body under him. He had never been like this with anyone before, wild and uncontrollable. He was desperate to cum and wanted to make this last forever at the same time.

K was panting and groaning under him and finally he felt muscles start to tighten around him. Slipping a hand around K's waist, Hiro grasped K's erection and began pumping in time with his thrusts. One of K's hands joined his, tightening his grip. K's body shuddered and he cried out as the sticky wetness covered his hand. He thrust into K one last time as deep as he could and finally let himself go fillingthe passage with his seed. K's name escaped his lips as he came and collapsed onto the other man's back panting to catch his breath.

* * *

It took K a few minutes to get his senses back. He could feel Hiro collapsed upon his back trying to catch his breath. Leaning forward just enough so that Hiro slipped out of him, he quickly flipped onto his back to roughly embrace the man who had just taken his virginity, so to speak. When Hiro finally caught his breath he was all concern.

"Are you all right?"

"Wonderful" K sighed, pulling Hiro's lips back down to meet his for another kiss,

"Although I'm probably going to be sore in the morning. And, just in case you hadn't already guessed. I've been with men, but never as uke." Hiro only smiled at the declaration and the smile was beautiful. "Maybe I'll let you do that again sometime."

"Thank you K. Either way, it doesn't matter," Hiro admitted, "as long as I get to be with you."

"You will Hiro, for a long time if you want me." At this point in time, Hiro was all he wanted.

"I do, you wouldn't believe how much I still want you."

They lay in the tub and held each other for a while, just kissing and enjoying each others company until the small space became too cramped and cold. When they finally managed to climb out and get dressed, K's back was starting to ache. Stretching slowly, he heard the first small noises coming from the other room. K quickly forced Hiro to stay down in the tub and made him cover his head. He grabbed one of his ever present guns and turned the lights out. He silently cursed himself for leaving Shindou alone for so long and was afraid of what he would find when he peeked his head out of the door.

* * *

Yuki was later than he thought he was going to be. Now he only had three hours to get Shu out of the hotel and hidden before the sun rose. The weather was complicating everything. If it weren't for the weather he and Shu could just put on disguises and slip into the crowd. But, there weren't any crowds out today and there wouldn't be any tomorrow either. The snow was now at least two feet deep with drifts over his head in some places. Somehow he had to get Shu through the streets unnoticed.

Yuki himself was now dressed in black and white fatigues after doing a little breaking and entering into a military surplus store. While there he had also managed to pick up a some things the singer would need. The supplies now rested comfortably in a pack on his back

He didn't even think twice as he began scaling the snow and ice slicked wall of the hotel. He moved quietly from balcony to balcony until he reached the sixteenth floor and slipped into what he knew was K's window.

At first he couldn't see anything, then he noticed a small foot sticking out from between the beds and gave a slight smile. He also noticed the then strip of light coming from under the bathroom door. As he crouched down to wake Shu he was aware of the bathroom light being shut off and the faint squeaking of the bathroom door being opened.

"It's me K, you can put down the gun." Yuki kept his voice soft. He also did not fail to notice the sound of a click, signifying that K had locked the bathroom door from the inside. He couldn't hold back his grin, "Who's in there K?"

"You don't miss anything do you?" The American asked, surprise clear in his tone. Instead of answering Yuki just continued to stare, he wasn't about to allow his question to be diverted that easily.

K let out a sigh, "All right, it's Hiroshi."

"Thought so. So, what does he know?"

"A little, just the surface facts. I didn't mean for it happen, I thought he was asleep, but he over heard Shindou and I talking and I had to tell him something." K admitted looking a little embarrassed.

"I just hope that he can be trusted." He pinned K with his eyes and he thought the threat was clear.

"I will make sure of it."

Yuki turned back to Shu and pulled the blankets off of his pink head. The kid looked so adorable lying there sprawled out that he couldn't resist leaning over and kissing him awake. Shu responded almost instantly by wrapping warm arms around his neck and eagerly kissing him back.

Yuki finally pulled away and glanced over at K, "I don't suppose you would want to go back to the bathroom for a while?"

K only smirked back, "Maybe later."

Shu was finally completely awake and managed to take him by surprise leaping forward and knocking him back onto his butt.

"Yuki are you all right. I was worried about you. I was a little scared too but mostly worried. Are we leaving now? Did you get me more clothes? Can I have a gun? I really missed you Yuki!"

By the time Shu stopped for air both he and K were laughing.

"Let's see," he was still chuckling, "I'm fine, I was worried about you too, I'm scared too, yes we are leaving soon, yes I have more clothes, and no you can't have a gun." He allowed his grin to fade a little, "I really did miss you too."

"But, but, why can't I have a gun?"

The pout was very cute and Yuki could see how Shu managed to get his way a lot. "Because I don't you to accidentally shoot me, okay?" The bottom lip quivered slightly at his words and he couldn't resist giving it a small nibble.

"Now, I need for you to get ready. I brought you some clothes, they're in the bag. I want you to put then on, all of them, while I speak with K for a minute."

As soon as Shu was changing he pulled K over by the door and handed him a small square of paper.

"These are addresses, the top one is where we are heading to now. The others are for places I will take him if we need to move. None of these are easy to find and I believe they are safe. For right now I just plan on hiding him, but I figure we only have three days left, if that."

"Are you sure you don't want to go ahead and try to hide him here?"

"If they are being so bold as take shots at me, I don't believe they would stop at burning the entire place down in an effort to get at him."

"Okay, but try to call me if you need to move or if you need any help. And, don't forget to keep in touch with McClean and Laytner."

"Have you called Dee yet?"

"Shit! I forgot." K looked extremely agitated with himself.

"Well don't, not now. He's in the hotel across the street. If you can, try to speak with him in person. They probably have the phones bugged by now."

Considering the conversation with K finished, he turned to see that Shu still wasn't dressed yet. He was holding up a black vest and staring at it like it was a snake.

"Yuki do I really have to wear this, it's heavy?" It looked like he cold barely even lift the bulletproof vest.

He and K both answered "Yes" at the same time.

By the time Shu was dressed and ready they only had about two hours of darkness left. Yuki opened another small sack and produced a grappling hook before going to open the window again. Securing the hook he tossed the rope out into the snow.

Shu saw what was about to happen and started to back away. "No way Yuki, you might be Spiderman but I'm not. I'll just go out the door, thank you very much."

He walked over and grasped the singer by the shoulders forcing eye contact, "Do you trust me?" At the first nod he hoisted the small body over his shoulder and was out the window before Shu even had a chance to yell.

* * *

K walked over to close the window before sinking down on the bed. He was beginning to have second thoughts. Maybe he should have taken Shindou himself, maybe he should tried to disappear with both Yuki and Shindou.

His thoughts were disturbed by slight noises coming from the bathroom. "Shit!" he cursed softly, he had forgotten about Hiro. He knocked on the door to signal for Hiro to let him in. The door opened quickly to reveal a very unhappy looking red-head.

"Do you know how uncomfortable a bathtub can be after an hour?"

"I'm sorry Hiro. Too much has happened too fast and I'm having problems keeping up." He could only stare miserably at the other man.

"You K, surely not!" He could tell Hiro was trying to lighten the mood but the smile quickly faded, "You're human too you know."

He took a seat on the bed and Hiro followed wrapping an arm around his waist. "Shu's gone isn't he, and you think you've made a mistake? Am I right?"

"On the money. I should have done what Yuki wanted in the first place. I should have taken Shindou and ran in Los Angeles." He lowered his head and sighed into his hands.

"What were you reasons for wanting Yuki to do it," Hiro pulled his hands down, "at the time?"

He held up a hand and started counting on his fingers, "First and foremost because he's better than me. Second, he knows this city. And lastly, he knows the methods of the people hunting Shindou."

"Those are all really good reasons K, now tell me why you're now thinking it is a mistake."

"I did swear you to secrecy and you must keep your word with this also. It's because Yuki is the assassin." He once again buried his head in his hands.

Hiro's arm was snatched from around his waist as if burnt. "What the hell were you thinking! That was an idiot thing to do, are you fucking crazy!"

He looked up as Hiro went bounding off the bed and started pulling on clothes at the same time. He was ranting the entire time. "Where did they go K?"

He could only shake his head in response.

Hiro walked over and slapped his face hard enough to rock his head back. The slap finally brought him to his senses and he also rose to his feet until he and Hiro were eye to eye. He was furious that anyone would have the nerve to slap him. Hiro took another swing at his stomach, but this time he was ready. He grabbed the still swinging arm forcing it behind the guitarist's back and pushing him face first into the bed.

"Dammit K, let me up!"

Hiro was struggling wildly but he continued to put the pressure on until the thrashing ceased. He leaned over to whisper into Hiro's ear, "You want to know where they went?" grabbing the red head with one free hand he turned it to the window. "There's where they went. If you want to follow, you are more than free to try. But, personally I wouldn't advise it."

Hiro was sobbing now, whether from the continued pain in his arm or anger he couldn't tell. K released the arm and allowed the man to sink onto the bed. "Hiro, Yuki is not going to hurt Shindou, he loves him. And, eventhough I have my doubts, even Shindou trusts him." He moved over to begin massaging Hiro's abused shoulder but he continued to remain silent.

"Nothing more to say? You could always start trying to beat the hell out of me again." The silence continued. "Well you could, if you didn't slap like a girl."

He felt a slight twitch in the shoulder he was massaging and knew that it was a laugh.

"Seriously Hiro, you need to let me teach you how to fight. I can't let you keep trying to fight like a girl, when I know damned good and well you are not."

Hiro felt all of the fight suddenly leave him. He attempted to roll over and could only groan when he felt his shoulder pull. "Shit K! Did you tear it out of the socket!"

K helped him roll over onto his back. "It'll be all right. I had to do something, I didn't relish getting my ass kicked by someone I've decided I want for my own. And, there was no way I was going to hit you. Especially when I still have my own doubts and you may be right."

"You still want me?" He felt slightly amazed, "That wasn't just a one time thing? Even after I hit you?" He felt a wild sense of elation.

K lay across his chest and leaned down to give him a tender kiss, "Oh yeah, I want you." The blonde quickly rose from the bed and started getting dressed.

He couldn't hide his sudden confusion, "Where are you going? I thought…" he allowed his words to trail off as K began putting on his shoes.

"Get some sleep Hiro. I'll be back in a while. No more questions right now, I have to go meet with someone."

"About Shu?"

"No more questions!" K snapped and then his look immediately softened, "Yes, about Shindou. Now go to sleep."

After K left the room he didn't think he would be able to sleep and it was quite a while before he was able to close his eyes. When he finally felt K slide into the bed beside him, he could see faint light coming in from around the curtains. He was immediately pulled into strong arms with K proving how much of a man he was too.

* * *

Ryo and Dee were still finishing up the report on last night's shooter. In actuality Ryo was writing the report and Dee was telling him what to write. Dee absolutely hated writing reports. It was really the standard "cop on stakeout, cop hears gunshot, cop investigates, perp fires at cop, cop responds with lethal force".

Dee knew that he was going to be placed on administrative leave very soon. The leave was also standard after any situation in which lethal force was involved. It really wouldn't mean anything, the shooting was justified, but it would mean that Ryo would have to work on this case by himself for the next few days. At least until the investigation was completed. The really bad thing was the lie on the report.

Several hours after the incident they had received a visit from Mr. K who had informed them that the guy wasn't just some random gunman, but an organization man who had managed to graze Yuki with his shot. The chief would really kill them both when he found out that Yuki and Shindou were now both gone. K wanted them to continue to watch the hotel for the next couple of days just in case there was anyone watching him and Ryo.

Ryo finished the report and gave him a look, "Think it will fly?"

He raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Of course, your work always does." He got a smirk in return.

"Ryo, I know that K told you where they went. Tell me. Even unofficially I can help keep watch."

"No!" he was given a stern look, "not while you're on leave Dee. That's departmental jurisdiction and not just a case of pissing the chief off this time."

"Do you really expect me to sit back and do nothing?" He was trying his best to stare his partner into submission.

"No, I don't." Ryo ran a hand through his already messy hair, "But, what I do expect is for you not to be seen. Yuki doesn't trust and he will run from you too. So, don't fucking let him catch you."

Ryo leaned over and whispered an address into his ear. He could only grin at what he was hearing. He wanted to get started right away but Ryo stopped him before he could get out the door.

"One more thing Dee. I saw him you know, Yuki. The first time he left the hotel. You were still downstairs. I went to the window and saw him. You're going to think I'm crazy, I know I do, but I watched him scale down the wall of the building. He was like a human fly. In case you didn't know before, he is a very dangerous man."

The intensity in Ryo's voice finally got through.

"Dee just don't let him see you, and don't shoot anyone."

As he walked out the door he knew that Ryo was wishing he was the one to be able to follow Yuki. He loved Ryo as much as he had ever loved anyone and sometimes he wondered how the man could believe that he would always be rash and impulsive. 'I won't do anything foolish,' he thought to himself, 'like getting myself killed.'

* * *

I would really like to thank all of my reviewers:

**girlo--**Yuki didn't really jump, I hope I explained a little better in this chappie.

**Kemet--**I try to keep the suspense up.

**murray the leprechaun--**Keep sending me the cookies and I will stay happy

**i love athrun--**Thank you so much

**kuma-chan--**Share the Pocky!

**Bloody Dead Rose--**This is very AU, but I could always see this part of Yuki just lurking ready to come out.

**chocho--**I am glad you found the story and I hope you enjoy the rest.

Please to continue to read and review. And, look for the appearance of my new story, as yet untitled, in the next couple of weeks. It is a stalker kidnapping story. It is very graphic and very violent so be prepared.

Read and Review


	11. Chapter 10

Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

* * *

Chapter 10 

Time Out

By the time Yuki reached his destination he was carrying Shu. The singer was too tiny and the snow was too deep. He had stayed to the alleys he loved so well and he believed they had made it out clean. As a matter of fact, there wasn't even anyone out who could have noticed. Not even the usual hoards of homeless people who lived in these same alleys.

He really had to give the kid credit, he had tried to make it on his own and Yuki couldn't help but to admire his spirit. The final straw had come when Shu slipped and fell headfirst into a nearby wall and had knocked himself out cold. He had been forced to dig the kid out of the snow bank.

When he pulled him out there was a large lump on his forehead and blood was running into his eyes. Shu was clearly dazed and couldn't walk anymore. Fortunately they were only a few blocks from their destination.

He was forced to lower Shu to the ground and checked his head. The bleeding had stopped but the lump appeared larger. He wasn't sure if Shu was unconscious or just passed out from exhaustion. Right now he didn't have the time to find out.

Yuki quickly jimmied the nearest window and slid into a dusty basement. There was about a six foot drop to the floor. Now he had to just somehow manage to get Shu inside.

He knew just where everything was in this basement, it was one of his favorite winter hideouts. There was a stepladder conveniently stashed in a corner that he sometimes used when he needed to get out in hurry. He used this to climb up and pull Shu in. The kid was still limp as a rag doll and the dead weight nearly caused him to overbalance. That was all he needed, to nearly kill them both falling off a ladder.

Once they were both inside he laid Shu out on the floor and went back to close the window. He then covered it with a blackened drape. Using duct tape he fastened the drape to the wall, doubling and tripling until he was sure any light they needed wouldn't escape.

This was one of his favorite places because it had electricity even when it wasn't being used. There was even a restroom with hot water. God Bless income tax services. Using a flashlight, he hunted out the lantern and lit it before going to check on Shu again. The kid was still out.

He had everything already stored here that he might need. He pulled a cot, blankets, pillows, and even a small electric heater out of a back corner and got things set up before starting to deal with Shu's injuries.

It was easy lifting the small body off the floor, the kid hardly weighed anything. Once he was lying on the cot, Yuki was able to get a better look at the damage. At first he couldn't tell much, there was too much dried blood. Getting a few damp hand towels from the restroom he cleaned the wound as best as he could. The cut was relatively severe and would likely continue to bleed for days.

One of the things he always kept in any of his hideouts was a full medical kit, just in case. Almost reluctantly he went and pulled out the kit. Using alcohol he prepared the wound to be stitched. Before he began he leaned over and kissed the still lips, "It's a good thing still out love, this is going to hurt."

By the time he was finished there were five tiny stitches sealing the cut. He had tried to make them as small as possible to minimize any scarring. He checked Shu's pupils next and seemed to be responding normally. But, he was getting one hell of a shiner from the blow to the head. He had barely stirred through the entire thing.

Yuki briefly considered leaving Shu in the snow fatigues but the room was warming rapidly and he thought it might be too hot. He undressed first, then started on Shu. He briefly debated taking off the bulletproof vest and then left it on.

He was exhausted himself and pushing Shu over to make a little room he climbed onto the narrow cot with the singer and pulled the small body close. He liked the feel of the boy's breath on his chest. He had not intended on sleeping himself, but soon found himself drifting comfortable with Shu in his arms.

* * *

When Shuichi awoke he found himself in a strange dark room and his head felt really funny. The headache was terrible. He also found his right eye didn't want to open. He tried to raise a hand to feel his head and instead it made contact with warm flesh. Yuki was with him, wherever he was and this somehow made everything all right. He tried to smile and found that this hurt too. 

His hand sought the blonde's face and gently traced the slightly opened lips. "Yuki wake up." He whispered as softly as possible, not sure if talking was even allowed where they were.

* * *

Yuki woke in his usual manner, all at once and immediately found himself on the floor. He could hear Shu softly giggling from the cot above him. Then, "Owww, that hurt!" 

He raised up far enough to put his elbows and chin on the edge of the cot. "Thought that was funny did you? Don't worry, I'll get even." He was smiling so that Shu wouldn't take him seriously.

"Yuki where are we?"

"Just one of my little hideouts." He gave a wink and then settled his face into a more serious mode. "How does your head feel?"

"Hurts. What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" He immediately became concerned, any loss of memory was not a good thing.

Shu whined out a loud "no" and he was on his feet once again checking Shu's pupils. His right eye did seem to be slightly dilated. With a sigh he sat on the cot. "You fell into a wall and hit your head. I had to carry you the rest of the way here. I think you might have a slight concussion. Wait here, I'll get you something for the pain."

A quick check through his bag produced a bottle of pain reliever. "This is the strongest I'm going to be able to give you, I'm sorry. I need for you to be awake as much as possible. I also want for you to take an antibiotic and keep taking them for at least a week. You have a severe cut on your head and it could get infected."

A hand immediately lifted to feel of the wound and Yuki watched as he barely even touched the bandage and flinched in pain.

He had a sneaking suspicion that Shu wouldn't be able to raise up to take any medicines. He stopped to get a bottle of water and a box, just in case. Shu started to try to rise up on his own but could only groan and lie back down. Setting his load on the bed Yuki took a seat and began to gently lift him into a sitting position.

"Dizzy Yuki, I feel sick." His face seemed to be turning an alarming shade of green.

Yuki grabbed the box and only just made it while Shu was violently ill. Afterwards he only held the singer gently, brushing the hair out of his face until the kid collapsed against him. He continued to hold him as he placed the box on the floor and Shu rolled with his movements.

"No Shu, you to stay up." He only just managed to stop him from collapsing back onto the bed. Looking into Shu's eyes he noticed they were still open but unfocused. He continued with his support until he felt Shu start to support himself.

"Better?" He got a small nod in response, "I'd say you definitely have a concussion. Can you try some water now?" He picked up the overturned bottle glad that he hadn't opened it yet.

"Little." The word came out a croak.

"Just swish and spit first, clear your mouth."

"That's disgusting Yuki!" The voice was a little stronger, and Yuki took this and Shu's attitude as a good sign that Shu was getting back to his normal self.

Shu did take the water and had to spit in the same box. Yuki made him rinse three times before allowing a small swallow. Once he was able to keep that down he gave him the medicines.

"Need the bathroom Yuki." Shu panted when he finally got the pills down.

"Do you need for me to carry you?"

"I think so." He watched as a pretty blush spread to Shu's ears.

It was no burden to carry such a small weight and he easily hoisted Shu into his arms. Once in the restroom he also needed to assist with undressing. He finally left him with a warning to knock when he was ready to come back out.

Yuki closed the door and busied himself with arranging the cot against a wall with a pillow backing so that Shu could sit up if he wanted. He was beginning to get worried when he finally heard the commode flush. He waited patiently for a knock that didn't immediately come. He took a peek in the door to see Shu standing in front of the mirror with the bandage torn off of his head.

"I'm just going to have to put a new one on now you know."

Shu gave a jump at his voice, "Did you do this?" Yuki held his eyes to the violet ones staring at him from the mirror and nodded, "I look horrible." The pout on Shu's face nearly made him forget any injuries.

"No Shu, you're beautiful, even with a black eye." He allowed himself to smile, "Are you ready? You need to rest some more and I need to go out again. We need food and I didn't have the time to pick anything up yesterday."

Shu suddenly looked like a scared rabbit. "I'll be all right, I don't think anyone is looking yet. You just stay here. Do not try to get up or to leave and keep the light out. The only place I want you going is to the restroom if you need."

Shu reached out a hand and he returned the squeeze before heading up the stairs. He really didn't want to leave the kid in the dark but didn't see that he had any choice.

* * *

Dee had been watching the building for hours when he saw a man emerge from the roof. He could tell from the build that man was Yuki, an obviously in disguise Yuki. The man that emerged had long red hair and appeared to be wearing leather. At least he was dressed all in black. 

Dee had a fairly good view from his position on a rooftop across the street. The snow had finally stopped falling so there was nothing to hamper his view. Besides, he had his binoculars. He watched as the man hopped down onto a fire escape and made his way into a neighboring apartment building.

He was trying to decide whether or not to follow when he spotted Yuki emerging back onto the street. The new red-head nodded the few people who had managed to venture out into the snow and proceeded into a grocery store. He kept watch until he man reappeared with a sack. He thought Yuki would head straight back to the empty building but was surprised whenhe crossed the street and entered a jewelry store.

When the man again emerged Dee could see the smile on his face even without the binoculars. Instead of heading directly back to the hideout Yuki walked right past the building and around the corner and disappeared. He once again debated on following but realized Yuki didn't have the kid with him. There had to be another entrance to the building, he wouldn't have gone anywhere without Shindou. Pulling a blanket back over his head, Dee settled in for a long day.

* * *

K awoke to find Hiro gone from his bed. He felt momentary panic and hoped he hadn't decided to do something stupid. He quickly pulled on his clothes and glanced at the clock before running out of the room. 'Damn' it was almost eleven in the morning no wonder Hiro was already gone. Bad Luck was scheduled for practice this morning in the hotel banquet hall. Listening carefully he smiled as he realized he could actually hear Hiro's guitar echoing softly through the hallway. 

Pulling the door closed once again, he decided that since he was already late he might as well stay and take a shower. If he was going to be late, he might as well get it right.

By the time he finally made it downstairs everyone was already packing up their equipment. There really wasn't much point in practicing without Shindou. Casually leaning against the back he briefly considered telling them to get back to work but the depressed look on everyone's face stopped him. He just didn't have the heart this morning. Shindou was the heart and soul of this band; Bad Luck with nothing without him.

A good portion of the people hurrying out of the room either refused to look at him or quickly looked at away probably fearing he would force them back to work. One person fearlessly approached him, as Fujisaki was leaving he did come over and gave a small bow.

"K-san I hope you are not angry, things were not going well without Shindou-san so we decided to break for lunch. Nakano-san and I are going to work some on our own after we eat, if that is all right?"

He could only wonder at what Hiro had told everyone about Shindou's absence, "That will be fine Fujisaki but don't take any more than a couple of hours."

"Arigato K-san." The kid's head made another bob, "I hope Shindou-san is feeling better soon." Barely raising his head the kid turned away.

He didn't really like the kid, eventhough he was a hard worker and extremely talented on the keyboards, he always felt slightly dirty after talking to him. He was very much like his cousin and the company President Seguchi Tohma. There were only a few differences, where Seguchi was smooth polish over a caring heart, Fujisaki was lacquer over steel. Both were devious, manipulative, and hard-headed. The major difference was that Seguchi did what he thought was best for others; Fujisaki only did what was best for himself. He pulled himself out of his own thoughts to see that the kid was still standing there.

"Is there something else you need Fujisaki?"

"Yes K-san, I just wanted to comment that I have not seen Yuki-san this morning either. I hope that he is not ill also?"

By now he should have been used to this, but this morning he was no mood for the probing questions. "You know kid that really is none of your business. The fact that you are Seguchi's cousin does not give you the right to nose into other people's business. Do you understand me? But, since it doesn't matter I will tell you. Mr. Yuki is not ill, he is helping me to care for Shindou and that is all there is to it." K gave the irritating kid one final stern look, "Now get out of here, I do expect you to be back here in two hours."

Eventhough his attention was focused on Fujisaki he was aware of Hiro walking up to where he could hear the conversation. "Little prick," he muttered as soon as the green head disappeared through the door. He looked up to see surprise clearly etched on Hiro's face.

"I always thought you liked him?" The shock was clear in Hiro's voice.

"I admire his dedication and work ethic," he let an agitated sigh escape and gave Hiro an affectionate look, "but that doesn't mean that I like him."

Hiro moved to lean back against the wall next to him and found his own hand being gripped lightly. "Good." The guitarist's voice was tinged with relief. Instead of pulling away he turned to take both of Hiro's hands into his own.

"Let's go back to our room, we can order in again. I have something I need to talk to you about."

A look of fear instantly crossed the red-head's face and K knew that his mind had turned to Shindou. He was quick to reassure, "It's not about that, but I can't talk about it here. Will you come?" For some reason he was feeling uncertain and even thought he might be refused.

"Of course K. Anything." The calm answer did nothing to settle his nerves.

Their trip back up to the room was silent and once inside he ordered lunch for both of them. He turned on the television trying to catch the news, just in case there was any hint of a problem. So far there was nothing.

* * *

Hiro glanced at K from under his hair. K had said that he wanted to talk to him and so far hadn't said anything. He was really beginning to wonder if K was sorry for what had happened between the two of them. Instead of eating he found himself just playing with his lunch. He couldn't help but notice the glances that K was giving him. The silence was becoming very uncomfortable. Finally it became too much and he started to get up. 

Glancing at the blonde nervously he started to excuse himself. "K, I have to…"

"No, don't go yet. I'm sorry Hiro." K gave him a pleading look. "I do have something I need to ask you. I'm just having problems figuring out how to do it." The man actually gave a nervous chuckle and reached up to scratch his head. "I'm just afraid of how you'll react." He finally stood and shook his head and murmured almost to himself, "Shit, I'm really screwing this up."

He could tell that K's nerves were getting the best of him and that the other man was going to end up tearing his hair out before he was going to be able to say anything. K was pacing the room and right now he was facing away. Hiro got up and pulled K around to face him. "Just tell me, it can't be that bad. I promise I won't slap you if that helps."

"I am making this more difficult than it needs to be. Okay," K sighed and then took a deep breath, "when we get back to Tokyo, I want for you to move in with me. What I mean is…you know. Do you want to?" He looked like he was going to faint after he finally forced the words out.

Hiro was shocked and he knew that must show on his face and naturally K read the look wrong.

"Never mind, forget I asked that."

He reached up to take hold of K's chin. "Can I answer before you before you start making up my mind for me? And, yes, I would like that very much." He wrapped his arms around K's waist and whispered, "I thought you were going to tell me to get lost."

The blonde smiled at him sadly, "I almost did, you know? Sometimes what we want doesn't really matter. As long as I could stay close to you and could have you once in a while, I think I'd have been all right. But, it wouldn't have been fair to you. Just in case you have forgotten, I am married."

K took a seat on the bed and pulled down next to him, "My marriage was never one of love or even convenience; it was more a matter of circumstance. I have never loved her. I did lust after her. I won't lie about that. But, the lust faded. With you I see a chance to be happy." K's voice was cracking and Hiro found himself reaching up to wipe away a lone tear.

"So, what do you want to do? I've already told you I'm willing to take you the way you are." His hand remained touching K's face and the blonde leaned into his palm.

"When the tour reaches Los Angeles," K suddenly began to tremble but he refused any attempt to hug him, "I am going to start divorce proceedings. I am not looking forward to telling my wife. Frankly, she scares the bejesus out of me."

"I'll be there with you, you know." He looked deeply into the icy blue eyes, "Now, can we finish our lunch? I'm suddenly hungry again."

K looked up and met his gaze and he could tell food wasn't what K was hungry for.

* * *

Tachi had spent a restless and uncomfortable night at Ma's side. There were no more seizures but no more of anything else either. When dawn finally broke he was struggling to stay awake. He had completely given up on talking hours before and was actually beginning to wish for a television. The steady beeps and blips of the machinery was almost hypnotic. A couple of times during the night someone had brought him in coffee, but he never noticed who it was to thank them. 

Light was just starting to stream in the window when a team of workers began streaming in and unhooking Ma from all of the different monitors. Before he had a chance to become paranoid a doctor came in and explained that they were taking Ma for a CAT Scan to make sure there was no more swelling on his brain. He was then ordered out of the room and told to go and get some food and to take a walk.

Without any argument he left and started making his way to the cafeteria. When he passed the waiting room he noticed Ken sitting in a chair and reading a magazine.

"Hey Ken, how long have you been here?"

His friend looked at him with his eyes narrowed, "I was here until midnight last night and I got here at five this morning. What I don't understand is where the Hell you have been! You are supposed to be his friend and you haven't even been here! As a matter of fact you look like you have been out on an all night drunk!" Ken was flaming mad and shouting.

At first he couldn't believe what he was hearing coming from his friend. If he had any sort of energy left he would have knocked Ken on his ass. "Where the hell do you think I have been!" He managed to drag up enough energy to flame back. "I've been here all night! All the long horrible night!"

Ken had stood to get into his face and Tachi pushed him back down into his seat. He leaned over placing his hands on either side of the chair nose to nose with the other man. "I have spent the entire night sitting on a hospital bed holding Ma's hand, talking to him, keeping him alive!"

His anger was so intense he felt like he was going to explode, the strain was getting to him and he knew it. Instead of taking his anger out on Ken's face he slammed his hands once more onto the arms of the chair. Rising quickly for the first time in his life he listened to the little voice in his head that said, 'Just walk away.'

He was still angry as he entered the cafeteria. He could hear Ken chasing after him but wasn't in the mood to stop.

"Tachi wait!" There was a note of desperation in Ken's voice, "Dammit stop!" He was out of breath when he finally caught up, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. They won't tell anyone anything. How could I have known that you were here?"

Tachi decided to take pity, they had been friends for years and now wasn't the time to break up friendships. With a sigh he stopped, "Ken are you hungry? I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon and I'm starving. If you want to talk you can do it while I eat. I want to be there whey they bring Ma back." It wasn't until then that Tachi realized how tired he really was, tired to his soul.

As he was eating he finally started to tell Ken about Ma's condition. His friend was actually flinching by the time he had finished the description. He could tell the other man was at a complete loss as to what to say or to do.

"Is there anything I can do?" The hopeless and helpless look on his face seemed to say it all.

Tachi sighed, "Only if you are willing. If he is able to pull out of the coma they are looking for people who will be willing to donate a Kidney. You could get tested for that. I've already been tested but I don't have the results back. But, that is a really big request, so it is up to you."

Suddenly he realized that his tiredness was getting to him more and more. He had just asked Ken if he would be willing to donate a kidney. "Sorry Ken that's…I'm not thinking straight right now. That is too much to ask of anyone."

"Tachi," his name was said softly and when he met Ken's eyes again he could see the sincerity there, "Ma is my friend too, of course I will get tested."

"Thank you." The words felt strange coming out of his mouth and he wondered just how many times in his life he had ever felt the need to say those words, probably not very many.

"Now," some of the seriousness had left Ken's face, "I just want you to tell me one thing. How were you allowed in? They won't even let his parents in to see him right now."

He was able to manage a small laugh at this, "At first I simply walked in without asking. When I started talking to him his vitals rose and they wanted me to stay. Questions came later. When they finally did ask who I was I told them the truth. I told them I was Ma's boyfriend."

When lunch was finished he returned to Ma's room with a promise to keep Ken updated when he had a chance. They hadn't brought Ma back yet so he took the opportunity to stretch out on his bed and close his eyes.

He awakened immediately when they broughtthe medical team came bangingback in. To his great relief there was no longer a tube running down Ma's throat. As the other man was once again hooked up to the ever beeping machines, Tachi didn't fail to notice there were no longer wires connected to the blonde head and the machine that was monitoring his brainwaves was removed from the room. A doctor came in to check to things over and to make sure everything was working properly. Once he was done the man came over and had a seat on his bed.

"Things are looking somewhat better. There has been no swelling on his brain and we are no longer giving him the medication that had been keeping him in a coma. It will still be several hours before we are able to tell anything for sure."

He wasn't sure what all of this meant, the only part that really penetrated was the fact that the doctor had said that things were looking better. He didn't have time to ask any questions before the doctor started speaking again.

"The other good news is that he is breathing on his own now and the internal bleeding seems to have stopped."

For the first time since he had gotten the news he was starting to feel a little hope. It must have shown on his face and the doctor gave him a frown.

"This is all very good but his condition is still very grave. If he is to survive he still has a very long, tough road ahead of him.

He wasn't surprised by the doctor's caution and gave him a small nod. Getting up to stretch he once again grabbed the chair and pulled it over to Ma's side. He would do all that he could to see that the road was a smooth as possible. He once again took Ma's hand and began to talk.

* * *

Thanks to Alll of Me Great Reviewers:

**Kuma-chan--Thank you again. Pocky Cookies for me, nummy mun.**

**murray the leprechaun--Honestly I have been waiting for that to happen but I am undeterred. If it does I will just move the story to AFF. It is also being published on my forum under the name Trust. The link to the site is in my profile. I feel a little odd eating those cookies, oh well, they are very tasty. I am just worried you guys will make me fat.**

**Super Drive--Thank You. In the coming chapters will find a slightly different K so maybe that will help.**

**Ranma064--Yeah, I am long winded. Sorry but you won't ever find much good about Suguru with me writing. He just gets on my nerves.**

Well that's it for this week. Not very many reviews this time, I hope you guys aren't losing interest. Sighs

Read and Review


	12. Chapter 11

Sorry, In the prologue I forgot the disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

**First, I would like to apologize to my readers for this taking so long. I had a few computer issues and lost all of my saved files. Luckily I always write long hand first so I had a copy of my work. Then, I had to get a replacement computer, not a big deal except it was followed by network issues. We had to get a new modem from the cable company and then a new router. So, hopefully now I will be able to be a little more prompt. Thanks to everyone for their patience.**

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

This chapter is an interlude and features only Shu and Yuki and resolves some issues.

* * *

Chapter 11 

Interlude

Yuki returned to the basement hideout only to find Shu nowhere in sight. Panic filled his heart. Taking a quick glance around he noted that nothing had been disturbed and there were no signs of a struggle. Trying to keep his head he made a quick check of the bathroom which was empty. Next he approached the bed and checked for traces of blood and once again found nothing. As he leaned down to smell the mattress for ether or any other chemical substance he felt his foot hit something solid underneath the bed and heard a small groan.

"Oh, no!" Heart pounding he crouched down only to find Shu curled up asleep under the cot. "Shu," he choked out, "wake up! What happened!" When the violet eyes opened to meet his he gently brushed the hair back, "What are you doing under here?"

"Hi Yuki," the words were followed by a huge yawn, "remember that first night in my apartment? How I got scared? I always get scared when I am alone in the dark." He watched as a shiver passed through the younger man's body.

"Well, I'm here now you can come on out." He was amused and exasperated at the same time and didn't hesitate to let Shu know, "You scared me to death. I come in and can't find you. I thought…shit. I was looking for blood spots and signs of a struggle."

He reached down to help Shu out from under the cot and after he was once again lying on the bed Yuki continued, "I even had the thought that maybe you had left on your own. Shu don't ever do that again!" His voice had risen to a yell and he could see the tears starting to glisten in the singer's eyes but he couldn't seem to stop. "Imagine what they would do if they found you here alone. At least with me it would be clean and quick."

Shu was sobbing openly now, "I'm sorry Yuki. I won't do it again, I promise. Please stop!" The trained singing voice was a miserable wail.

Yuki was so scared and angry that he knew he needed some time to cool off before he would be able to speak reasonably. He knew he was hurting Shu, but the kid needed to toughen up if he was going to be able to survive. Without another word he got off the bed and started walking. He didn't stop until he was once again in the attic. It was then rational thought once again took over and he realized what he was doing. He was just about to walk out and leave Shu alone and in the dark once again.

Feeling miserable he slumped to the floor and as he sat, he felt something hard in his pocket. In his anger he had forgotten what was there. With irritation he dug into the leather only to pull out the tiny ring box. Opening the black velvet cover he carefully examined the plain gold wedding band. Giving the box a slight tilt he was able to read the inscription on the inside, "I Love You, Yuki"

He stared at the ring for a long time turning it over and over in his fingers. "Why am I doing this to myself, to him? We have so little time." He closed his eyes trying to fight back the tears.

He didn't know how long he sat there before hearing Shu's footsteps coming up the stairs and he was aware of when the kid came to sit beside of him. He didn't speak but Yuki could hear his quiet breathing.

"I meant to give this to you when I came in," his eyes were now opened to slits and he watched as the gold band flashed between his fingers, "only I have realized just how short out time together is going to be. When I bought it, I guess I wasn't thinking." With a pained sigh he carefully put the ring back in the box. "In a few hours or days you will go back to your life and I will be dead or in prison. I can't chain you to that."

Shu had kept silent through the entire speech. He wanted more than anything to reach out and take Yuki into his arms, but he knew this was something he needed to work out on his own. So, he let him talk.

"I've never had anyone before, never been in-love before. I never thought love could hurt so much." Tears were again starting to glisten on pale lashes and he felt that now was the time to move.

Shu climbed up onto Yuki's lap and wrapped skinny legs around his waist while pulling Yuki's head onto his shoulder. He still didn't say a word but only held the older man until he had cried himself out. Continually planting small kisses on his head and caressing his back. When the tears ended and Yuki's breathing evened he knew now was the time to talk.

"Yuki I know you don't want to die, no more than I do. And, I know things seem pretty hopeless right now," he felt Yuki's small chuckle pass through his body. "We will make it through this and K said that he could help you, right? You don't want to go back do you, to what you were before?" He felt Yuki's head shake no. "Then come on we still have some time. I want to spend it with you."

Yuki finally looked into those beautiful violet eyes and once again saw the world reflected there, a world full of love for him.

He somehow managed to get off the floor without dislodging the younger man. He didn't even stagger as he carried him back down the stairs like a small child with Shu hugging his neck the entire way down.

Once they had reached the basement Shu tried to untwine his legs and walk but Yuki wrapped his hands around the back of the small thighs and pulled the slight weight around until they were eye to eye. He wished he could express what he was feeling right now but mere words didn't seem adequate enough. Instead he tried to show all that was in his heart by capturing that perfect mouth in a kiss.

He released one slender leg to slowly run a hand up Shu's back pulling the thin cotton shirt up as he went. Without the additional support Shu began slipping down. This was what he wanted. As soon as the shirt was off he once again pulled Shu in tight to his body growing erections pressing together. His own hips thrust forward and he received a moan in response.

Yuki took the time to study Shu's face at that moment memorizing every detail to hold in his heart and to give him courage for what was to come. Violet eyes were now closed and the cheeks were flushed. The small mouth was open slightly and he could feel the warm breath against his face. Closing his own eyes now, Yuki lowered his head and began gently nibbling on the slightly pouty lower lip.

Shu's legs fell limp at his sides, it didn't matter he would be all the support needed. Arms tightened around his neck and he felt Shu pressing back against him. He barely heard the mumbled "Bed Yuki" due to the buzzing in his own ears. He was more than willing to comply.

Shuichi knew that would probably be their last time together things were drawing to a close. He could feel it with every fiber of his being. He wanted something more this time, something just for him. So when he was gently laid on the bed instead of allowing Yuki on top of him he pulled the other man down and quickly straddled his waist. He couldn't hold back a slightly devious grin at the look of surprise on the other man's face.

He began running his hands over Yuki's well toned chest unbuttoning the shirt while keeping their eyes locked the entire time. His lover actually looked nervous for a few short minutes before relaxing into his caresses. He scooted down to take a nipple into his mouth and now it was Yuki's turn to press into him and groan. Amber eyes finally closed and hands tangled in his hair.

For some perverse reason he felt he needed to make Yuki as wanting as he had been their first time together. He took his time removing the rest of their clothes playfully biting and licking as he worked. When he blonde finally lay exposed beneath him, he took the time to memorize every line, every curve. Amber eyes opened slowly when he stopped. There was confusion there at first but understanding soon appeared and Yuki pulled him down again allowing him to control the kiss.

From there it was all him testing and teasing never quite giving Yuki what he wanted. Only the smallest touches before withdrawing again. There were times he was forced to grab Yuki's hands and hold him down while he continued his slow torture. There were times when he was being watched that he touch himself giving himself the friction he was denying the other man. He wanted begging now. He needed to feel some kind of power in this hopeless situation.

* * *

Sorry Folks I took out the lemon here. It was only gratutious smut. The only difference was that Shu was Seme.

* * *

Shu laid by Yuki nearly in a daze himself now. His first time as seme had been wonderful and he thought he would like to do it again but deep in his heart of hearts he liked being uke better. He would always remember this though, and he would always hold it in his heart. Just as he would always hold Yuki in his heart, no matter what happened in the future.

Emotions still in a jumble Yuki made his way to the bathroom to clean up leaving Shu lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. Not since his body had been so cruelly used as a prostitute had he allowed anyone to touch him in that way. Now he was only slightly sore as he turned to pull the door closed. Why had he let that happen, why had he wanted it so bad? It was true he wanted to give something to Shu he had never given to anyone else freely. He also realized that if Shu wanted that again he would freely give himself anytime the other wanted.

Was this what love was? Was this what it truly meant? He had been willing to give his life, now he was willing to give his soul. He would make sure that Shuichi lived and he would try his best to make sure that nothing would ever happen to him in the future. In his heart he knew that he had been planning on trying to run when this was over not matter what he had promised those detectives. Now he knew he couldn't. He would have ended up dying anyways and he wanted to die with Shu believing he really had changed. He didn't want Shu to think of him as a monster when he was gone.

After cleaning himself up he left the bathroom only to find Shu still lying in the same position.

"Next." He called softly but Shu didn't move or even blink. His immediate thought was that the head injury was causing him problems. Sudden panic caused him to race to the cot. "Shu!" he could hear the worry in his own voice, "Are you all right? Is it your head?"

Shu finally blinked and looked up at him, "No, I mean it still hurts, but I'm okay. I was just thinking…" The voice trailed off and the eyes once again turned to the ceiling. Yuki began to get a weird sense of deja vu and he thought he knew what was coming. He thought it was best for now if he just left Shu to gather his thoughts. He wouldn't hide anything. He would try to answer all of Shu's questions as honestly as he could.

Yuki went back into the bathroom and wet a towel with warm water. In minutes he had returned and began carefully washing Shu while the kid worked out what he was going to say. The only response he got was a mumbled "Umm, that feels good Yuki," as he ran the warm cloth over the still naked body. Shu was still thinking and deeply.

He returned to the bathroom briefly to rinse and rewarm the towel. Shu still hadn't moved when he came back in. "Turn over Shu and let me get your back." Shu flipped onto his stomach and as soon as the warm towel touched his back Shu started talking.

"Yuki yesterday you promised you would tell me about yourself. I want to hear it now." Now Shu gave him a moment to gather his thoughts and allowed himself to finishing washing before he spoke.

Standing up he stretched his back and tried to smile, "Since I did promise I will. You need to get dressed first though I won't be able to concentrate with you like that. I'll get us something to eat."

As Shu was pulling on his clothes Yuki tossed the towel into the sink and made cold sandwiches for the both of them. The other man was dressed by the time he was finished and he took a seat on the cot facing his love. They had both started eating off of the same paper plate before he could bring himself to speak. He was hoping that Shu would only want to know the facts but he should have known better.

When he was done with his telling Shu was still staring at him with eyes so innocent it was almost terrifying. "I still don't understand why you would choose to kill people," a small sigh followed, "it is just so wrong." This one question said it all everything he had been dreading. The truth was he didn't really know the answer to that question, maybe they could work it out together.

"I know that there no way could understand, I don't really myself. The truth was that I didn't really choose it. It was more forced on me. I had the choice to do what I was ordered or to be killed myself."

"I think I would have chosen to die." There was so much recrimination in that one sentence and he felt his walls shatter, but Shu continued to speak, "I just don't know, I guess you don't know until it happens to you."

Shu was silent again for a few minutes and he couldn't think of anything to say that would make the situation any better right now. The next question did shock him.

"Did you enjoy it?"

His own breath drew flew out in a rush, he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. "Shu! I can't believe you would ask me that!"

"Just answer the question Yuki, honestly."

"No, I did not enjoy it. The only way I could it was to make the person into an object. I know it sounds cruel and heartless but I couldn't get out. They had me tied. The real truth is that I did feel some sense of accomplishment when I was finished with a job, not because I had killed a person but because I done a job properly. Now, sitting here telling you it just feels very lame and dirty."

There was no blame now in the eyes that looked into his. "I really am trying to understand Yuki. I just don't know, it really does sound lame. How could you see anyone as an object? Was that how you saw me?"

"Never Shu, not from the first second I laid eyes on you." He never wanted him to think that. Even if he couldn't get anything else across he wanted Shu to know that he had always been a person in his eyes. Thinking quickly he decided on taking another track. "I have told you what happened to me physically maybe if I told you about mentally and emotionally that will help."

Shu only shrugged, "You can try Yuki but I just don't know right now."

Feeling like he was losing everything he tried to pour everything in his voice that he was feeling and had felt when it happened. "You know that I was young when my tutor molested me?" At Shu's nod he continued. "Well sometimes I think that I asked for it. I did have a terrible crush on him. So maybe I was leading him on without realizing it."

For some reason Shu decided to speak up in his defense on this point, "Yuki you were so young, he was adult. He let it go on and he was the one who should have stopped it. That was his fault. Don't blame yourself for that."

"Maybe, but the most I felt towards him were betrayal and hurt at the time. When I finally ran out I had no idea what was waiting on me. A group of men grabbed me the minute I ran outside. Kitazawa had owed them money and they were going to get it back any way they could. That night I was given to a group of three men to use as they pleased. They were supposed to 'break me in'. I was scared and I cried. They only laughed and thought I was funny. The more I cried the more they abused me. I learned very fast to hide my feelings. By the time I outgrew my 'little boy' looks I didn't have anything left but anger."

He had to pause here letting those same feeling pass. They were always trying to get through and he couldn't let himself break down again now. Taking the time to get another bottle of water he came back and once again sat on the bed, he wanted Shu to see his eyes as he told this part.

"Most of the time I never felt anything. I had made myself numb. I became nothing more than a machine, a killing machine. I know that you have seen the machine and it scares you. There was only one thing that ever broke through my veneer and that was staring into the face of innocence. I suppose I saw in children all of the hopes I had once held and had ripped away from me. I could not destroy…" His eyes started filling with tears, he pinched his own arm and blinked trying to make the pain in his heart go away.

Shu grabbed his hand and held it tightly, "Yuki I'm sorry. You were right, I didn't understand, not until now."

"I really thought I was dead inside." He couldn't even make himself look into Shu's eyes now and quit trying. He allowed his head to drop. "Then I saw you and from that first moment everything I had buried started coming back. I'm afraid I haven't handled it very well."

Not knowing if Shu would accept it now and not caring he let himself fall forward, head resting in Shu's lap. He didn't care if Shu pushed him away, he needed the contact. There was no flat out rejection and Shu's hand started stroking his hair. This gave him the courage to continue. "I'm not sorry I met you, but I wish that you had never met me. I love you and I hate myself for it. K wants for me to be Mr. Thomas to protect you only I don't think I can ever be that man again. I do think that I can be myself and still protect you." He couldn't think of anything else to say which was fine since he didn't think he could talk anymore anyways all he could do now was wait, hope, and cry.

Shu was willing to let Yuki cry himself out. He needed a little more time to think. Yuki spoke as if Mr. Thomas were an entirely different person. If that was the case he wasn't in love with Mr. Thomas, he was in love with Yuki Eiri. It wasn't Thomas lying in his lap now crying, it was Yuki. Thomas would never cry.

As soon as Yuki went quiet Shu lifted his head up and once again looked him in the eyes. "Yuki can I see the ring?"

Yuki looked at him once again red-eyed and defeated, "Why?"

"Can I just please see it?"

Yuki reached down and grabbed the pants lying on the floor and pulled a black velvet box from the pocket. His had trembled as he handed the box over. Shu pulled to lid open carefully to reveal a plain gold wedding band. He pulled the ring out and tilted it into the light. It was inscribed inside, 'I love you, Eiri.' Just as carefully he put the ring back in the box and handed it back. Yuki nearly flinched back from his hand and he had never seen so much pain and hurt in any one person's face.

He couldn't help that right now, he needed to show Yuki what he was feeling. He pulled himself out from under Yuki's weight and got off of the bed. He heard a broken whisper of "Goodbye Shuichi." He watched fascinated as a lone tear fell on the box still in Yuki's hand.

"But, I'm not going anywhere." Shu whispered as he lay back on the bed and pulled Yuki into his arms. Once again his entire body tensed.

"I'm sorry Yuki, I had to know. I don't love him, Thomas, I love you. I'll accept the ring now if you still want me to have it."

"You still love me?" None of the tension had left Yuki's body and Shu suddenly felt as if his entire future depended on the answer to this one easy question.

"Yes Yuki Eiri, I love you."

Yuki's hands were still trembling as he slid the ring on his finger. He heard the whisper of "I do" and felt his own heart lock onto the marriage he just accepted. They laid in silence for a long time afterwards. Every now and again Yuki would grasp his hand and stroke the finger that ore his ring. They had nearly drifted to sleep when the jarring sound of Yuki's phone ringing sent him flying from the bed.

Yuki quickly motioned for him to be silent. He could hear the voice on the other end of the line. "Mr. Thomas have you completed your assignment?" Yuki's eyes traveled to him, "Do not try to lie Mr. Thomas we know that you have not. Just tell us where he is and we will forget your part in this. You are a valuable asset Mr. Thomas."

Shu watched as Yuki's eyes literally blazed, "Go to Hell!"

* * *

Read and Review 


End file.
